Careful with my Heart
by Sonata18
Summary: What if after Beth was taken, she was able to escape before they ever reached Atlanta? When the group miraculously finds each other, will they be able to stick together and find a place to start over again? Semi-slow burn. Kind of follows things that have happened in the season thus far but definitely deviates some. What I like to imagine would happen if Beth was still around.
1. 1:Unexpected Reunion

Carol focused on her every step, keeping her eyes only on the train tracks in front of her.

She was afraid if she looked back - if she allowed the grief of Lizzie and Mika to seep in - that she'd lose her will to keep going at all.

Tyreese was silent beside her, bouncing Judith lightly in his arms.

He was determined to reach the sanctuary Terminus, holding tightly to the hope that Sasha and the others could be there.

Carol wished she could believe that.

She wanted nothing more than the opportunity to see their group again. Their family.

But Carol hardly had any hope or faith left in her. She would continue down the train tracks for Tyreese though. She owed him that much at least.

_SNAP!_

The sudden sound from the woods pulled Carol from her thoughts. She stopped, barely breathing, listening intently. Another twig snapped even closer and she pulled her knife, ready to take down any stray walkers.

She held still, waiting quietly as the ruffling of leaves and snapping of twigs got closer and closer, until a lone figure stumbled from the tree line.

Carol raised her knife but froze in her tracks as she stared at the slight figure before her.

"Beth?"

...

"I was with Daryl." Beth began. "We got overrun. He told me to meet him in the road. Last thing I remember was headlights coming' up behind me and then pain."

Beth leaned heavily against a tree, taking gulps of the water Carol had offered her. Her hair was a frizzy mess and her face was scraped up, but she looked no worse for wear otherwise.

"I woke up in the car's trunk. My gun was gone but they didn't see the knife I had hid in my boot." She paused and took a shaky breath.

"It's okay if you don't wanna talk about it right now." Tyros gently assured her. Beth shook her head.

"No, it's okay. Really. . . the car stopped and I head one man say somethin' about checkin' to see if I was still knocked out. When he opened the trunk I jumped up and stabbed him in the chest. He wasn't expectin' it. I jumped out and grabbed his gun and shot him. When the other guy got out to see what was goin' on I shot him too. . . then I took off for the woods and been walkin' this direction ever since."

Carol and Tyreese stared in shock, taking it all in.

"And Daryl?" Carol asked, fighting to keep her voice even.

Beth shrugged, her eyes full of sadness.

"I don't know. I don't even know if he made it out of the house we were stayin' in at all."

Carol nodded.

"Okay well . . . once you're rested we need to keep goin'. We're not far from Terminus and I wanna get there before sundown." Carol left Beth to rest in peace.

She felt tears attempting to well up in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Any hope she'd let form when the youngest Greene girl had emerged from the forest had just been destroyed with her last words.


	2. 2: A Sight for Sore Eyes

**Thanks to all who read/reviewed/followed the first chapter! This story should be a bit longer than my first one. It'll somewhat follow their journey in the second half of the fifth season, but my take on how it'd be if Beth were there. Hope everyone enjoys! I don't own anything or anybody from the show, just usin' my imagination!**

**Maggie**

Maggie couldn't believe their luck. It was a miracle, really.

First, almost all of their group was captured together. Not exactly the most ideal circumstances, but at least they had _found_ each other again. If they had to die like this, at least it'd be together.

But then luck struck again. Chaos in Terminus. Their chance for escape.

And then to find out it was Carol who had saved them all? Maggie was in awe.

"I have another surprise for y'all. Follow me." Carol had a sly grin on her face as she turned and rushed off, the group close behind.

A small cabin stood before them. Maggie was at a lost as to what the big surprise was until the door opened and she saw the people who stepped out.

Rick and Carl rushed forward to scoop Judith from Tyreese's arms, tears streaming down their faces as the hugged and kissed the little toddler.

Sasha cried out as she ran and flung herself into her brother's arms.

And then there she was. Beth.

Limping slightly, but _alive _and just out of Maggie's reach.

Letting go of Glenn, Maggie ran for her little sister, crashing into her and sobbing as Beth grasped her in return.

"I was afraid I'd never see you again." Beth cried.

"Me too," Maggie replied. "When Daryl said you were taken . . ."

"Daryl?" Beth interrupted, her face lit up in anticipation.

"Yeah, Daryl," Maggie said, moving aside so Beth could see the rest of the group coming forward.

Maggie had had no intention of releasing Beth so soon, but before she knew what was happening, Beth had pulled away from her embrace. Maggie turned in time to see Daryl rush forward, scooping Beth into his arms.

Beth threw her arms around Daryl's neck as he lifter her into a tight embrace.

He buried his face in Beth's hair, but not before Maggie saw the wet trail of tears creeping down his face. Beth was mumbling, "You're alive, you're alive!" over and over into Daryl's neck.

Everyone else had stopped to look on. Daryl's reunion with Carol had been emotional too - something everyone had expected, knowing how close they were. But this was something different.

Maggie knew that something must have happened when the two were on their own to bring them closer together like this; there could be no other explanation for the way Daryl was looking at her sister right now.

...

**Beth**

Beth felt him in her arms. She heard his voice murmuring her name into her hair. She could smell the sweat and tobacco on him. But she still couldn't believe he was real.

She hadn't seen Daryl leave the mortuary. She didn't know if he was alive or not, but she had been convinced she'd never find him again even if he was.

Yet there she was, wrapped up in his arms.

Beth felt the collective stares of the others all of a sudden. She gently pulled away from Daryl, brushing his long hair from his eyes before letting go.

It was true that the two had not been close back at the prison. But out on their own, things had changed. Their bond had shifted and grown over their time together.

But the group didn't know all that yet. They didn't know about the guilt Daryl felt after the prison fell, or about the tears they both shed, or the cabin they burned down along with all their past demons. The questioning eyes of the group revealed their curiosity though.

Daryl cleared his throat nervously. "I ran after you," he said quietly. "All night."

His eyes held so much guilt it broke Beth's heart.

"I took care of myself. Just like you showed me." Beth replied with a comforting smile.

Daryl gave her one of his half smiles in return.

Rick cleared his throat, breaking up Beth and Daryl's intimate reunion.  
"We need to get away from this place. Find shelter for the night."

Daryl nodded. "Right. Let's get goin' then."

...

**Daryl**

It'd been a few days and so far the little church seemed to be safe enough for a temporary shelter. The jittery little pastor, Father Gabriel, rubbed Daryl the wrong way, but seemed harmless enough.

They had spent their days fortifying the place and going on supply runs, and the nights swapping stories of their journeys since the prison fell.

When it came to him and Beth, he felt the guilt of losing her hit him all over again. And then to hear that two men had hit her with their car and stuff her in the trunk to take her God knows where . . . it made Daryl's blood boil. If he could've stopped that car, he would've beaten them bloody for even thinking of touching her.

He was proud of Beth for handling it herself though. He wished she'd never had to experience taking a human life, but she seemed to be dealing with it alright. It had to be done. He was just glad she was back.

He hadn't had much of a chance to talk to her since their reunion though. Maggie was always with her, holding her hand and talking up a storm. He didn't mind really; Maggie was her sister after all.

Plus, he hadn't been so sure they'd stay close if they found the others again anyways. Daryl was a very reserved and temperamental person. Beth was sweet and hopeful and kind. She'd put up with his surly moods and comforted him before, but now she didn't _have _to.

He cast her one more glance - she was settling down for the night beside Maggie and Glenn - before heading outside for first watch.

The moon was full and cast a glowing light on the church entrance where he took his place. Crossbow beside him, he leaned back against the steps, settling in for the next few hours.

All was quiet except the church door opening and closing behind him. He expected it to be Carol. She'd been pretty much glued to his side lately.

But as he turned to greet her, he saw the golden hair and porcelain skin of Beth Greene.

She shot him a shy smile and said down beside him.

"Hey stranger," she said, nudging his arm playfully.

"Hey Greene."

She smiled again, laughing at his use of her last name.

"You alright with some company?"

Daryl shrugged. "Can't sleep?"

"Nah, just haven't got to talk to you lately."

"Didn't wanna interrupt Maggie's time with you."

Beth rolled her eyes. "I missed her a lot. And I'm glad to have her back. But I wanna spend time with you too . . . if you want to, that is . . ."

Daryl was slightly surprised she actually wanted to spend time with him, but pleased.

"Yeah." was all he managed.

"Good," she replied warmly.

She scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. They didn't speak, but they were comfortable together. Beth just rested against him until she fell asleep.

Daryl held still the entire four hour watch, letting her rest while listening to her soft, steady breathing - a sound he had been afraid he'd never hear again.

...

**Carol**

Carol bundled up in a sweater and grabbed her gun, ready to relieve Daryl of watch.

He might even stay and sit with her for a while, like he used to. She missed him most while she was gone; and though she was feeling out of place in the group that was once her family, she still felt comfortable around him.

She silently crept to the back of the church and eased the large doors open.

Stepping out, she was surprised to see that Daryl was not alone. Beth's petite body was pressed against Daryl's side, her head resting on his shoulder. The way her head was positioned left her long blonde hair splayed across Daryl's back, the angel wings on his vest peeking through her wavy locks.

His head rested on top of Beth's and, for a moment, Carol wondered if he had dozed off too. But as she shut the doors behind her, he looked over his shoulder at her.

"Beth," he whispered, gently shaking his shoulder to rouse the sleeping girl. "Beth," he tried again.

"Hmmm?" she murmured, opening her sleepy blue eyes.

"Time to go inside." Daryl replied.

"Daryl, it's still dark out." she yawned, closing her eyes.

Daryl smirked. "C'mon Greene."

He carefully lifted her up in his arms and got to his feet.

"Need any help?" Carol offered.

"Nah, I got her." he said, nudging a door open and stepping inside.

Carol peeked in and watched as Daryl gently deposited Beth onto her sleeping mat, carefully brushing some hair from her face before walking to his own mat.

Carol let the door close behind her and slid down to lean on it, wondering what exactly had happened with Daryl and Beth after the prison fell. Daryl was her closest friend in the entire group - always had been - yet she'd never seen him look at someone with such reverence as he did the young Greene girl. Not even herself.


	3. 3: The Good and the Bad

**Sorry it's been a few days! Lately I'd get home and think of so many other things to do with the warmer weather and whatnot that my next chapter got pushed back later than I wanted. Anyways, I'm truckin' along now! It's kind of a short chapter but I promise I'll try to make it up by making the next one longer. Hope y'all enjoy!**

**Beth**

It was daylight and everyone was already up and moving when Beth woke up.

She sat up and stretched, feeling more rested than she had in weeks.

"Mornin' sleepy head." Maggie teased, handing her an open can of apple pie filling.

"Oh my gosh, I love this stuff! Thank you." Beth replied, happily accepting the can. "Why'd you let me sleep so late? I don't mind helping' out with stuff."

Maggie sat down next to her and shrugged. "You needed the rest. You didn't miss anything anyways."

"Well, what do we have planned for today then?" she mumbled, mouth full of pie filling.

"Gabrielle is gonna take a few people to a food bank in town, see if it's been picked over yet."

"Oh yeah? You goin'?"

Maggie shook her head. "Nah, gonna stay here and help board up the windows. We'll probably move on soon if Abraham has his way, but may as well take some precautions while we're here."

"Sounds good. . . I wanna go on the run though."

Maggie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I think they already have everyone they need."

Beth set her now empty can down and looked at her sister, determination full in her eyes.

"I wanna pull my weight around here, Maggie. I can do more than babysit you know . . . and I'll be careful, I _swear_."

Beth hated that Maggie looked so hesitant. She knew that she was the only true family Maggie had left (and vice versa), but Beth was a lot tougher than she had been before. She could contribute more than just cooking and babysitting. She could handle a run, she just knew it.

The worry on Maggie's face was plain as day, but she slowly nodded anyways. "Okay Beth. Just . . . look, I know you're grown and can look after yourself but could you at least stick next to one of the others? For me? Don't try to prove anything."

Beth sighed but agreed. "Fine. Who else is goin'?"

"Rick, Bob, Gabrielle, Glenn, and Daryl."

Beth smiled to herself as she hopped up to get ready. If she had to stick next to someone, she knew who it was going to be.

...

**Daryl**

Daryl wasn't exactly thrilled that Beth had wanted to tag along.

He knew she was capable of handling herself. She'd proven that.

But it was difficult letting her walk into a potentially dangerous situation when they just got her back. There was nothing he could do to change her mind though, so he kept his opinion to himself.

They were lucky to find the food bank untouched, although the storage area had flooded and was full of water-logged walkers.

It was risky getting down there with them, but there were too many supplies to ignore. It was enough food to hold them over for months.

Glenn asked Beth to stay up top, a suggestion she didn't take kindly to; but he insisted they needed her to keep watch, so she reluctantly agreed.

Everyone else stepped down into the chest-deep water, positioning themselves behind the shelves, ready to use them as barriers from the walkers. The strategy worked surprisingly well. The shelves held the walkers at arms length, allowing them to drive knives into their rotten skulls. Once they were all taken care of, getting the food out would be simple work.

All was well as they finally began to pass boxes up to Beth. Until _it _happened.

Bob was suddenly jerked under the water with a splash. He was only under a moment, surfacing with a walker clutching his shirt and snapping wildly at him.

Everyone was yelling and trying to get to him, pushing shelves and boxes out of the way. Daryl was closest though and, after shoving a container from his path, was finally able to drive his knife into the thing's decaying skull.

"Are you okay?" he panted, scanning Bob up and down.

Bob was wide-eyed and out of breath but he shakily nodded.

Rick insisted he get up top with Beth and take a breather while they passed up the remaining boxes. He readily agreed, allowing Beth to help hoist him up from the wet storage room.

It took a while to load everything up on some carts Glenn found in the back, but it was worth the effort for so much food.

It wasn't until everything was strapped down and ready to go that Bob slumped down and started to silently cry.

"Bob, what is it?" Beth asked, concern clear in her voice.

"I was gonna keep it to myself and handle it on my own . . . but Sasha. . . how could I not tell Sasha?" he asked, tears staining his face.

"Tell her what, Bob?" Rick asked seriously.

"This." he said, pulling his t-shirt aside to reveal his shoulder and the perfect bite imprint that it held.


	4. 4: Remind Me

**Daryl**

The walk back seemed to take twice as long as before.

No one spoke except for Beth occasionally fussing over Bob, wanting to console him somehow. Bob appeared calmer now, but Daryl could still see the sorrow in his eyes.

He knew that Bob was thinking of Sasha. Probably feeling cheated that their time together was so short. Feeling angry that he was bit . . . or maybe even wishing that the bite could've been somewhere else on his body, knowing that life without a limb would be better than no life at all.

Daryl looked over to Beth. She held Bob's hand, offering what little comfort she could. He couldn't imagine losing Beth like _this_; to sit by, powerless to help, as the infection took over. He didn't even want to imagine it.

As the church came into view Daryl could sense the others' hesitation to return.

Maggie, Sasha, and Carl emerged from the building, eager to welcome them back from the run. They waved as they came forward, eyes sweeping over the large crates of supplies from the food bank. Their smiles faded quickly though when they saw how somber everyone looked.

Daryl saw Beth give Bob's hand one last reassuring squeeze before releasing her grip. Unable to stay as Bob revealed the terrible turn of events to the others, she walked off alone to the edge of the woods and sank to her knees.

Daryl followed and planted himself on the ground beside her.

"You okay?"

She looked over at him and he could see the tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Just tired of losin' people is all," she whispered. They were his own words from the prison when Zach had died.

Daryl reached over and carefully pulled Beth into his arms; he had never been one for physical contact; the only touches he'd ever known were rough and harmful. But Beth was different - soft and warm and accepting - and she needed comfort right now. She had comforted him on more than one occasion and he wanted to be able to do the same for her.

She buried her face into his chest and began to cry; her tears slowly soaked the fabric of his worn t-shirt.

"Thought you didn't cry anymore, Greene?" he asked, trying to tease her and ease the tension of the moment.

Thankfully, she gave a little laugh and wiped her wet eyes with the back of her hand. "Guess I was wrong."

...

**Beth**

Bob passed away the next afternoon, overwhelmed by the fever. He died the same way he'd lived - with a smile on his face. Positive to the very end.

Sasha was devastated by his loss; she spent the next few days avoiding the others and crying in the back room. Tyreese would go in every day to try and comfort her, but she always sent him away, preferring to grieve alone.

Everyone else became somber as well; they went through the motions of their days half-heartedly. The tension and sadness was becoming so thick within the tiny church that Beth felt as if she might suffocate from it.

One day it all became too much . . . the sobbing, the hushed tones, the downcast eyes. It happened every time they lost someone, but this time the anguish was smothering Beth. She needed to escape it all, if only for a little while.

With that thought in mind, Beth rushed outside. She jumped off the deck and made a beeline for the back of the building. She found Daryl in the same spot he'd been everyday since Bob's burial - working on Gabriel's bus with Abraham and Glenn.

He was bent over the engine when Beth walked up to his side.

"Hey, " he said, standing straight. He was sweaty all over and covered in oil from the bus.

"Wanna get out of here for a while?" Beth blurted.

His eyes widened in surprise but he nodded.

"Sure," he replied as he used the bandana from his back pocket to wipe his face and hands clean.

"Hey Abe, I'm done for the day." he called go the rear of the bus.

Beth saw Abraham's head peer around the back end of the vehicle, a look of distaste clear on his face. He saw Beth standing next to Daryl and his frown deepened.

"Now listen girly, you can't just come out here and steal my manpower. We gotta get this hunk o' junk up and runnin' so we can get Eugene to D.C.!"

"Who's takin' Daryl? Glenn chimed in, coming up behind Abraham.

"Goin' out for a bit. You two can handle it for a while." Daryl replied misstep, already heading into the surrounding woods.

Beth caught up quickly and fell into step comfortably beside him.

"You alright, Greene?" he asked once they were a safe distance from the church.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Just needed some space."

He nodded silently, understanding what she mean, just as she knew he would.

The two walked aimlessly until the sun was straight overhead. Beth's skin was hot and sticky; just as she was about to suggest they turn back, Daryl pointed to a spot ahead of them. Like an answered prayer, a medium-sized creek cut through the woods before them.

Beth took off running, kicking her boots off as she neared the water. Dipping her feet into the cool stream was pure bliss on such a hot day. She wanted nothing more than to jump in.

"C'mon!" she called, peeling off her filthy yellow polo and jeans. Left only in her underwear and a dingy grey tank top, she waded out into the waist-high water. She turned to face Daryl who stood there, arms crossed, watching her with an amused expression.

"Get in!" she laughed, splashing water in his direction.

"Better keep watch." he called back.

Beth huffed and made a pouty face. He smirked but she could see the longing to join her in his eyes.

"It'll be okay. We don't have to stay in long. You could probably use a good rinse anyways." she teased.

With that comment, Daryl set his crossbow at the water's edge and kicked off his shoes. He shrugged out of his vest and jeans and waded out to join her. He dove under and came up behind her, splashing her in retaliation for her jab at his cleanliness.

"Hey!" she laughed, bringing up her hands to guard her face. "No fair!"

"You started it, Greene." he laughed.

They stayed that way for at least an hour, splashing and laughing as quietly as they could. It was nice to see Daryl smile; he hardly ever did. And for once nothing bad happened. No walkers. No cruel strangers. No tears. It was just what Beth had needed.

By the time the two waded back to the muddy creek bank, Beth was exhausted. They both slid into their jeans and boots before sitting down with their backs to the water, letting the sunlight dry them.

Beth leaned on Daryl's shoulder. It was something that had become routine for them when they were alone.

"You could swim without this you know?" Beth said, tugging at the hem of his damp t-shirt.

"Hmm." he grumbled.

"You don't have to hide them from me, Daryl. I . . . I've already seen them." she whispered.

Daryl pulled away from her then, turning to face her. Beth sat straight up, returning his stare. His eyes were narrowed and he looked so defensive. Her comment had his guard up, but it was too late to take it back now.

"It was back at the farm, when you got shot. I helped Daddy patch you up . . . but before he worked on you he wanted you out of your shirt; it was filthy. He cut it off of you and when he went to put the clean one on you, I saw . . ." she explained, trailing off.

Daryl sat in silence for a few moments, thinking. Beth didn't mean to bring up painful memories for him, but she didn't want him pushing her away either. She thought they were past all that by now.

"My ol' man beat me." he finally said, breaking the silence. "I don't need your pity though."

Beth carefully reached forward and took his face in her hands, making sure he was looking at her.

"I could never pity you, Daryl Dixon. You gotta stay who you _are,_ not who you _were,_ remember?" she asked, echoing her words from the moonshiner's cabin so many weeks ago. "Those scars are from your past. You'll carry them forever, but they don't alter who you are now. And who you are now is a good man, Daryl."

His eyes dropped to stare at his feet. "Just need you to remind me sometimes I guess." he replied, also echoing that night at the cabin.

Beth smiled, raising his face so he'd look at her again.

"I guess you're stuck with me then."

...

**Daryl**

Daryl couldn't sleep. He needed his rest; Abe and Glenn had finished fixing the bus and they were leaving bright and early in the morning, but his mind kept racing, flooded with thoughts of the afternoon with Beth.

He had wanted to kiss her. The urge had come unexpectedly and caught him completely off-guard, but he had wanted it all the same. She had been holding his face close to hers. It would've been so simple to lean in and bring his lips to hers.

But he didn't.

He couldn't bring himself to do it for several reasons. Fear of rejection. The possibility of ruining the bond they had formed, making it awkward. The opinions of the others had she _not_ turned him away.

All the self-doubt and insecurities he harbored had held him in place.

Now here he was tossing and turning - her soft blue eyes, her warm hands, her gentle laugh - crowding his thoughts. He couldn't seem to get her out of his head and, honestly, he wasn't so sure he even wanted to.


	5. 5: The Cold Hard Truth

**So I was relieved after the season 5 finale. I had been pretty anxious about it this weekend but I think they ended the season strong.**

**Anyways, here's the next chapter. I brought in another Maggie POV. I'm gonna try to work in a Carol POV soon, but I have to figure out what I want her POV to be exactly first lol. **

**Just a little disclaimer that I did use some dialogue from the episode where we find out the truth about Eugene. I don't own anything or any characters. I did not create the dialogue used from the show, only added to it. Also I'm sorry for any typos. I know my chapters have had some and I try to catch them but I'm only human and I also don't care for the keyboard I use. Excuses, excuses haha!**

**Thanks so much for the favs/follows/reviews. It makes my day to see there are people enjoying my story. I appreciate the support :)**

**Daryl**

Two days.

That's how long they were on the road to D.C. before things went wrong.

Only two measly days.

Abe and Glenn had gotten the bus up and running and from there things had gone fairly well. They hadn't had too much trouble finding fuel to keep it full. The roads had been clear. No herds to avoid.

Daryl should have known it was too good to be true.

Around noon on their second day of driving the bus shuttered and made a shaky, grumbling sound. Next thing they knew the vehicle jerked left and flipped onto its right side, sliding down the road.

Their frightened screams and Abraham's curses were barely audible above the crunching of glass and shriek of metal against the asphalt. They skidded to a halt and all went silent.

Daryl sat up and peered around. His head pounded and his arm was scraped to hell. No further damage as far as he could tell.

Everyone was scattered across the bus; between seats, against the broken windows. They began to stir slowly, dazed and bleeding.

"Everyone alright?" Rick called from up front. His voice was steady but his panicked eyes raked the aisles, anxious to ensure everyone's safety. He spotted Daryl and motioned to him.

"Let's check the others and get 'em out."

Daryl nodded. They set to work looking over their companions and helping them shuffle to the emergency exit in the back.

Everyone was scraped up pretty bad from the broken glass. Tara had a nasty bump on her head and Glenn's knee was bleeding heavily, but there didn't appear to be any injuries worse than that.

Even Judith was fine thanks to Tyreese's quick reaction; as soon as the bus jerked, he folded the toddler tightly to his chest, shielding her from harm.

Daryl was the last off the buss. He looked around until he spotted Beth with Maggie and Glenn, a cut across her temple the only damage done.

"What the hell happened?" Daryl asked Abraham, accusation in his tone. Abraham had been driving, after all.

"Wasn't anything I did. Didn't you feel that shutter? That was somethin' mechanical!" he replied.

"The important thing is we're all okay." Rick interjected. "We'll just push the bus upright and get back on the road. Couple of busted up windows shouldn't stop this thing from runnin'."

As soon as the words were out of Rick's mouth though, the engine caught fire.

"I believe _that_ would keep it from running. It would appear we won't be continuing after all." Eugene commented.

"Oh yes we will." Abraham cut in. "We find another way. We don't give up."

"I think we should just stop." Eugene protested.

"Why?" Tara asked. "You have the cure. We _have_ to go."

"Not necessarily." Eugene replied in a hushed tone.

All eyes turned to him, curious to his objections when he was the whole reason for going to D.C. in the first place.

"The hell you mean?" Abraham spat.

"I am not a scientist." Eugene admitted.

"What?" Rosita asked, shocked. "You have to be, I've seen the things you can do."

"I just know things."

"You just . . . _know_ things?" Glenn repeated.

"I know I'm smarter than most people. I know I'm a very good liar and I know I needed to get to D.C." he replied calmly.

"Why?" Carol asked.

"Because I do believe that locale holds the strongest possibility for survival. And I wanted to survive."

No one moved. Eugene looked around nervously, waiting for someone to speak.

"People died trying to get you here." Rosita finally said.

"I am aware." Eugene replied sadly. "I lost my nerve as we got closer, for I am a coward. So I put crushed glass in the fuel line. It was only supposed to stall the engine, not make it crash. For that I am sorry."

Daryl stepped forward and slugged Eugene with a right hook, sending the man stumbling back. Daryl went to swing again when Glenn stepped forward and grabbed him before the punch could land.

That didn't help Eugene's situation however, because Abraham was even more furious than Daryl. Abe was on Eugene in a second, landing punch after punch. The click of Maggie cocking her gun stopped him as she stood aiming at his chest.

"Step back." she commanded.

"He lied to me. He lied to _all_ of us. We already lost good people because of him and he almost killed a few more just now!" Abraham shouted.

"We don't kill the living. Now step back." Maggie replied cooly.

Abraham glared at her, but she wasn't backing down. He stalked off, leaving Eugene knocked out cold on the pavement.

Daryl understood how he felt. He was livid. He shrugged out of Glenn's grip and trudged off into the woods. He needed a minute to calm down or there was no telling what he would do.

He wandered off far enough to feel like he was really alone. Stopping, he slumped down on a mossy log and dropped his head into his hands. He wanted to yell. To punch something. But he couldn't, so he sat there and breathed deeply, willing his anger to recede.

He had barely been gone a few minutes when he heard footsteps approaching. Looking up, he saw Beth walking towards him.

"Hey," she began, standing still in front of him.

Daryl didn't respond.

"You okay?" she tried again.

"That idiot lied to us." he spat.

"I know."

"Sent us on a wild goose chase. And for what? So he'd have someone to protect his sorry ass."

"I know."

Daryl looked up at her. He didn't understand how after all that she could remain so calm and patient.

"That crash could've killed someone. It could've killed Rick or Michonne . . .or your sister. . . or _you_."

There it was. The real reason behind Daryl's rage. What if that wreck had taken Beth's life? That would've been on Eugene's hands and Daryl wasn't sure Glenn would've been able to stop him then.

"Or you." Beth whispered in reply.

Her eyes were sad and serious as she said it. Her mouth was set in a hard frown and her arms were crossed tightly across her body as if she was trying to hold herself together.

He stood and placed his hands on her crossed arms. She relaxed into his touch and brought herself closer to him, wrapping her arms around his middle instead. Something about the way she was looking at him brought that urge to kiss her back in full force.

And this time he didn't fight it.

He leaned in and brought his lips to hers, soft and timid. It was a brief kiss; he pulled away as suddenly as he had leaned in.

"Beth," he breathed. "I shouldn't have - I'm sorry." he rasped, releasing her and heading back to the bus quickly, leaving a confused and flustered Beth to catch up.

...

**Maggie**

With the bus ruined, they had had no choice but to stop for the night. Everyone was too sore and shaken up from the crash to continue on anyways.

Maggie sat alone, staring into the fire and reflecting on the day's events.

She had had to pull her gun on Abraham to make him release Eugene; he'd have killed the poor man if she hadn't. Now, Abe was on the outskirts of their camp, staring blankly into the night. He refused food and water; he only sat and stared, still as stone.

All the while, Eugene was still passed out.

Everyone else sat around the camp site stony-faced and mute; the silence was deafening.

Even Maggie's normally chatty sister sat gloomy, eyes glazed over as she peered into the fire.

Maggie scooted down so she could be next to Beth.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

Beth shrugged. "Just today."

"A _lot_ happened today. Anything in particular?"

Beth stayed quiet. Maggie looked to the edge of the woods where she saw Daryl trying not to look in their direction as he talked with Carol. She understood.

"Something to do with Daryl?" she tried.

Beth exhaled deeply. "Yeah. . ."

"Tell me."

"I don't know where to begin," Beth sighed.

"Try the beginning."

Maggie waited patiently as Beth began to speak.

"After the prison, Daryl and I didn't get along so well. I knew he was hurtin' just as bad as me but he wouldn't show it. He hardly spoke at all; he was in survival mode." Beth began.

Maggie listened intently; Beth had never really gone into much detail about her time alone with Daryl.

"One day it finally got to be too much and we had a _huge_ fight. Screamin' at each other and sayin' hateful things. But it turned out to be good . . . after all that pent up anger was gone, we just sort of clicked. We were a team then."

Beth stopped for a second and took a shaky breath. Maggie held her hand and smile reassuringly.

"I still feel like we're a team now . . . and when I saw how angry he was earlier today, I knew it wasn't just because Eugene lied to us. You know when I went to check on him?"

Maggie nodded.

"Well, he was furious about Eugene's stunt with the crushed up glass. Was yellin' about how it could have killed someone. . . how it could have killed _me_. And then . . ." she cut off suddenly.

"And then?" Maggie prodded.

"And then he kissed me." Beth whispered.

Maggie's jaw dropped; she couldn't help it.

Reserved, cautious, surly Daryl Dixon had kissed Beth? She had a hard time believing it.

"Then he apologized and hurried back to the bus." Beth finished.

Maggie wasn't sure what to feel about this or what to say. She was stumped.

"Well?" Beth asked. Her eyes were pleading; she needed advice.

"It's a lot to take in, Bethy." Maggie started. I mean, y'all seem like polar opposites. And he's a good deal older . . . it's a surprise is all."

"I know," Beth sighed.

"Do you like him?"

Her little sister nodded and by the look on her face Maggie knew she meant it with all her heart.

"Life is too uncertain these days. If you truly like him, Beth, and he feels the same, then you have my blessing. I say go for it." Maggie said firmly.

Daryl was a good guy, after all, and loyal to a fault. If he cared for Beth the way Maggie suspected he did, her sister would always be in good hands.

"Really?" Beth asked.

"Really." Maggie replied. "He was probably afraid you'd reject him today. You two _have_ to talk about what happened. And when y'all do, let me know. I'm here for you no matter what happens."

"Thank you, Maggie." Beth breathed, wrapping her up in a snug embrace. "I love you."

"I love you too, Bethy."


	6. 6: Two Conversations

**Beth**

Getting Daryl alone the next day proved to be more difficult than beth had thought it'd be. Daryl tended to be a loner when he wasn't busy doing something for their people, so it usually wasn't so difficult to catch him away from the others. It was becoming apparent to Beth, however, that Daryl was avoiding her on purpose.

He wasn't in camp when she woke; Glenn said he'd gone out to hunt.

It was a few very long hours before he returned, several lifeless squirrels hanging from his belt. He took a seat away from the group to skin his kill and Beth saw her chance; that is until he saw her coming and _conveniently_ called Carl over to teach him how to strip a squirrel.

By the time midday rolled around, Beth was anxious and frustrated. No one had a game plan, so to speak, and Daryl continued to avoid her.

Thankfully, Eugene finally began to come to. Maggie rushed forward to help him sit up as Tara brought him some water to drink. He was a bit groggy and claimed his head was throbbing, but at least he was awake.

Once Eugene was up and alert, Rick decided it was time to discuss a plan of action; they couldn't stay camped out beside the road like sitting ducks.

"We could always find a house or building in the area to stay until we figure out a more permanent set-up," Glenn suggested. "We've come too far to go back to the church anyways."

"We can't keep on like this," Michonne protested. "Jumpin' from place to place, never stoppin', never settlin' down. We need stability."

"And where do you think we'll find someplace _stable_?" Rick asked.

Machine turned her steely gaze on him. "D.C."

She had the groups' full attention now, even Abraham, who had been wordlessly brooding since his attack on Eugene.

"Why?" Abraham spat. "There's no cure. D.C. was some made-up fantasy. Why bother?"

"Eugene lied, but he picked D.C. for a reason." Michonne countered.

Eugene didn't dare speak for fear of provoking Abraham more, but Tara spoke up for him.

"She's got a point. If anybody was goin' to be prepared for a disaster like _this_, wouldn't it be our nation's capitol?"

Abe huffed but made no reply. Rick looked around as he considered the option.

"Anyone disagree?" he asked.

The others looked to one another but no one said a word. Rick looked to Daryl and raised his eyebrows in question; Daryl had become Rick's right hand man, his brother, and his opinion carried weight with Rick.

Daryl crossed his arms and shrugged. "Got nothin' better to do. Couldn't hurt to give it a chance."

Rick nodded his consent.

"Guess it's settled then. We still got some daylight left, so let's get movin'."

Beth hustled along with everyone else, packing up their gear and supplies. They made quick work of cleaning up their temporary camp and took to the woods, preferring the cover of the trees to the openness of the road.

It didn't escape Beth's notice that Daryl fell to the rear of the group as they began their trek north, clearly attempting to further delay a conversation they both knew they'd have to have eventually.

She decided she'd let him have his space for now; after all, he couldn't avoid her forever.

...

**Carol**

The first day of walking hadn't been terrible. They'd only had a few hours of daylight left but they had covered a lot of ground in that short time. They encountered a few walkers along the way as well, but nothing they couldn't handle.

They stopped near the road for the night among a few abandoned cars they had happened upon. As the others slept soundly, Carol could not drift off.

Instead, she rose and crept soundlessly to the car furthest from the group. Carefully opening the rusty door, Carol slid into the driver's seat and grabbed the wheel. She stared off into the empty road before her, picturing herself driving off into the night.

"Goin' somewhere?" came a gruff voice, startling her.

Daryl had opened the passenger-side door and was getting in next to her; it never ceased to amaze her how silently he could move.

"Just daydreaming I guess," Carol replied.

"'Bout what exactly?"

She shrugged and let her hands fall from the wheel into her lap.

"Honestly?" she began. "Leavin'. Settin' out on my own."

Daryl sighed as he settled back against his seat. "Why?"

". . . I don't know." Carol admitted. "I feel like a puzzle piece that won't fit anymore. I can't help it."

Daryl brought his thumb to his mouth, chewing the skin there as he always did when he was deep in thought.

"You could come with me you know?" Carol asked quietly.

"You serious about wantin' to leave?" he asked, clearly surprised.

"Maybe," she replied. "Would you go with me if I did?"

Daryl let the question hang there a moment.

"Couldn't leave the others," he finally said.

"You have before," she countered.

"That wasn't the same. Merle was my blood, I had to go. Besides, I came back."

Carol exhaled deeply, feeling worse than before. Maybe it was foolish of her to ask him to leave. It was definitely selfish.

"We're gonna find a place to settle again . . . to be safe. You just gotta give it some time and stick with us." he said reassuringly.

"Since when are _you_ so positive?" she teased.

She saw a small smile form on his lips as he glanced out the window towards the direction of their camp. She wished she knew what he was thinking of to put such a peaceful and confident expression on his face.

"I dunno, just . . . someone reminded me that there are still good people in the world. . . still things worth fightin' for. So now I'm remindin' _you._"

...

**Daryl**

Finding a few cars was lucky and all, but that did them no good with no gas in the tank.

So now Daryl, Glenn, and Rick had split up to search for more cars to either drive or drain; they set out in different directions before the sun was up with the agreement to return by sunrise.

Despite the lack of sunlight, the morning was hot and muggy; Daryl's shirt was already sticking to his damp skin. Even so, he walked along at a brisk pace, eyes alert and constantly scanning the road.

Normally he enjoyed time to himself; he'd never exactly been social. But this morning, out on his own, his mind kept wandering to Beth Greene.

Her smooth lips had only touched his a moment, but they hadn't left his mind since.

He didn't know what he'd been thinking, kissing her like that. Adrenaline had been rushing through his body from the wreck and punching that idiot Eugene, not to mention how Beth had been looking at him as she tried to calm him.

He had pushed aside all his doubts for one second and acted on emotion alone, and look what happened.

The look of surprise he saw on Beth's face as he pulled back brought all his worries rushing back instantly. His stomach felt like he'd swallowed a ball of lead, his face felt hot, and his palms became sweaty.

Of course she had looked shocked; she was doing him a favor by even being his friend and he had gone and made it awkward. So, he had turned tail to save her the trouble of "letting him down easy".

He knew she'd want to discuss it eventually; she'd already tried to approach him several times and each time he had managed to dodge her. It wouldn't last.

He continued walking, lost in his thoughts. The sound of cicadas was fading, replaced by the cheerful chirping of birds. And something else . . .

Daryl turned on the spot, crossbow raised, to see a wide-eyed Beth standing in the dim morning light.

"The heck you doin', Greene? I coulda shot you!"

"Sorry," she murmured as she stepped closer to him.

Daryl shouldered his bow and exhaled deeply. He hadn't expected her to follow him; it was as if his thoughts had summoned her.

"Can we talk about it?" she asked gently.

He found it hard to make eye contact with her at the moment. She was going to reject him and he would lose her as a friend all in one fell swoop.

"Sure," he grumbled.

"You kissed me," she stated simply.

He nodded, still staring down at his worn-out boots.

"And then you left me," she continued.

Daryl risked a glance at her; her expression was calm but her eyes were expectant. She wanted an explanation.

"Figured I'd save you the trouble of tellin' me off," he said, his voice low.

"Tellin' you off?" she repeated. "Why did you just _assume_ I was gonna tell you off?"

Her hands were on her hips now and Daryl felt like a little kid in trouble.

"Girl like you don't want some filthy old hick kissin' her."

Beth didn't reply. He watched her, seeing the wheels in her head turning as she processed his excuse. She stepped forward and took his hands in hers; they were so small in his, they fit perfectly, a thought he tried to immediately push away.

Beth was staring up at him now and he couldn't look away if he wanted to.

"Is that what you think of me?" she questioned sadly. "That I wouldn't think you're _good enough_?"

Daryl shrugged, unable to speak.

"I don't think of people that way, Daryl. And even if I did, you _are_ good enough. That's not the point though."

"What is?" he asked.

"I like you. And if you like me and you meant that kiss, I want to know. Because if you meant it . . . I want you to kiss me again . . ."

Her voice was so hushed Daryl thought he'd misheard her. Surely he had.

But she was looking at him from under those impossibly long lashes, her cheeks blushing pink, and he could swear she was leaning in closer.

Daryl nervously cleared his throat as she came so close their noses were touching. She halted there, though, waiting.

"Well?"

"I meant it." he whispered.

And with that, Beth smiled, closed her eyes, and placed her lips firmly on his.


	7. 7: Not Safe

**SORRY! I'm sorry it takes me so long between chapters. Between work and some other personal things that popped up I found myself struggling to find time for this chapter. Thanks for sticking with me and reading along. I enjoy writing it and I hope you're enjoying the story. I'll try to take less time between chapters, but be gentle with me if I don't always deliver on that attempt! Hope you enjoy!**

**Beth**

Beth and Daryl's first _real_ kiss was a secret.

Rick and Glenn were taken back to see Beth return with Daryl at sun-up when she had obviously not left with him to begin with. The two men had asked no questions though, so Daryl and Beth had offered no explanation.

Since then Beth remained at Daryl's side, day in and day out, as they navigated the woods heading north. They acted as normal as possible as the group traveled along, but come nightfall Beth would join Daryl on his watch after the others had fallen asleep.

She looked forward to their few hours of privacy every night. In their moments alone Beth would snuggle up to him, hold his hand, and rest her head on his shoulder, breathing in the scent that was so uniquely Daryl. Sometimes they'd talk quietly as Daryl scanned the woods for potential danger, while other times they sat in comfortable silence.

Before Michonne's time to relieve Daryl each night, Beth would lean in and kiss him. The kisses were never as long as Beth wanted - Daryl was on guard duty after all - but they still left the two breathless. Then Beth would tip-toe back to her sleeping bag and try to get some rest.

She didn't mind keeping their relationship a secret really. It was new to Daryl and she didn't want to tell the others until he was ready. Besides, it was kind of nice to experience all the nuances of a new relationship without the ever watchful eyes of their people on them.

One day when the group found a place to settle and could feel somewhat safe again, she and Daryl could share the news. If he needed time to prepare for that, then so be it. Beth didn't mind waiting a while, as long as she was his.

...

**Daryl**

Daryl peered through the trees to the gated community before them. A peeling and faded sign read Shirewilt Estates.

Daryl huffed, not surprised that Virginia would have fancy fenced-in neighborhoods like this; he couldn't really scoff at them now though - fences like that could be their saving grace if the inside was secure.

And that's what they intended to find out.

He scanned the perimeter carefully. No guards or lookouts anywhere as far as he could tell. All was still and quiet. With any luck, the place would be abandoned, but Daryl wasn't holding his breath.

"Okay, we don't need to send everyone in at once. We don't know who or what is behind those walls." Rick said.

"I'll go," Glenn immediately volunteered.

"Me too," Michonne added.

To Daryl's surprise, Tyreese volunteered next; he hadn't been the same since the prison. Avoiding conflict. Refusing to kill walkers if he could help it. Daryl wasn't sure if his mind was right for a scouting mission, but if he was willing to offer his assistance who was he to question it?

Tyreese handed Judith off to Beth and readied his hammer, now looking to Daryl.

"Yeah I'm goin' too." Daryl offered in reply.

"Alright. Get your weapons ready. Everyone else, stay back. If we're not out in an hour, get away from here. Understood?" Rick asked.

No one looked too pleased at the idea of leaving if things went bad, but they mumbled their agreement all the same.

Daryl watched as Rick kissed Carl and Judith on the head and as Sasha wrapped Tyreese in a tight hug. He tried to ignore the stab of envy he felt as Maggie pulled Glenn in for a long kiss.

It was hard for him to even admit it to himself, but he wanted to be able to have that with Beth one day. To kiss her and not care who saw because any moment could be their last together in this screwed up world.

Beth looked to him and he could see the same wish lingering in her eyes. She stepped forward, holding Judith in place on her small hip with one hand, and used her free hand to lightly touch his forearm.

"Be safe," she murmured, removing her hand before anyone else could notice.

He gave a slight nod and turned to follow Rick and the others. They crept along to the edge of the woods, scouting the large gate one last time. Still no signs of people and no walkers around. Seeing no immediate danger, they left the cover of the trees to ease alone to the gate.

Rick leaned down and cupped his hands together, offering Daryl a lift. Daryl landed hard on his feet, standing with his crossbow raised to check for danger. The streets were empty.

Turning, he ran to the gate and opened it for the others. They closed it behind them, not wanting to let in any stray walkers.

The small homes surrounding them were small and boarded up from within. The streets were littered with articles of clothing and empty food cans. The place looked deserted.

"Let's check some houses. See if there's any threat." Rick suggested.

They split up, Tyreese following Daryl to a small blue house on the right. Daryl knocked hard on the front door and waited. Hearing nothing, he kicked the door open and entered, weapon ready. No walkers in sight. But on the floor of the living room there was a body of a woman splayed out. Her head was caved in.

Tyreese followed behind Daryl and gasped when he saw the woman's lifeless figure. "She hadn't turned . . ." he whispered. "Why would someone do this to her if she hadn't turned?"

"Dunno," Daryl replied. "Don't care to find out either."

"Let's look the place over quick and get out." Tyreese suggested. Daryl couldn't agree more.

"I got the kitchen," he offered.

"I'll check the back," Tyreese replied.

Tyreese set off down the hallway as Daryl found his way to the kitchen. Some of the cabinets were already open and, of course, empty. He opened the remaining cabinets and drawers, finding very little. Two cans of beans pushed to the back of the pantry and a lighter. He pocketed the measly supplies and moved back into the living room.

Now that he was alone, he couldn't help but glance down at the woman on the floor. She looked to be about middle age, dark hair, pretty dark skin. Dressed in khakis and a button-up blouse, she looked like what Daryl pictured a "soccer mom" to be. Not all that threatening in his book; it was beyond him why anyone would bash her head in like that.

"AGHHHHHH!"

Daryl's head snapped up as Tyreese screamed. Jumping across the woman's body, he ran down the hall, following the sound of Tyreese's yells. He was in the last bedroom, a dead walker on the floor next to him. For one instant Daryl felt relief - that this was just a close call - until he saw the blood running down his friend's arm and the bite mark above it.

The gash in his upper arm was deep and Tyreese had already lost a lot of blood. His eyes were wild and sweat was rapidly beading up on his face and neck.

"Tyreese!" Daryl exclaimed.

He shouldered his bow and grasped Tyreese under his uninjured arm. Daryl struggled under his weight and had to move slowly to help him through the house. Tyreese stumbled along, tripping into the furniture as they navigated the narrow hallway.

Once they finally reached the porch, Daryl couldn't support Tyreese by himself any longer. He propped him against the railing and called out for Rick.

"Rick! Glenn! Michonne!"

It was only moments before the three came rushing from a nearby house.

"Tyreese!" Rick yelled, stooping next to the bleeding man. Tyreese looked about frantically, not comprehending Rick's words. He was losing too much blood.

"Get his arm!" Glenn commanded.

Daryl ripped off his belt and tied it above the bite as Rick grabbed his arm and held it in place. Michonne unsheathed her katana and did not hesitate as she swung down hard. The forearm separated cleanly as Tyreese cried out.

"Stay with me brother!" Rick pleaded as they lifted the large man together.

He staggered along between them, still losing blood despite Daryl's tourniquet. Daryl ran forward to open the gate, not bothering to shut it back as they stumbled out.

They just made it to the woods when Tyreese collapsed, his eyes wide and panicked, his breathing ragged.

"Tyreese, hey man, stay with me!" Glenn panted.

Hearing the commotion, the rest of their group came crashing through the woods, weapons drawn. Daryl looked to his family as they took in the scene before them. Tyreese lay motionless, eyes open and breathing shallow.

"NO!" Sasha cried, rushing forward. "NO!"

She pushed Glenn aside as she dropped down beside her brother, frantic to help him.

It was too late though. Tyreese was gone.

**So yes, I did decide to stick with the show and kill off Tyreese. I'm sorry, don't be mad at me! I know I could've left that part out and I will say I was sad to see him go, but at the same time I felt his arc was over. I am using the show plot as a guideline for this story and I felt that was a part I didn't want to change. I hope you liked the chapter anyways and stay tuned for my next chapter to see how everyone copes.**


	8. 8: Almost Lover

**Okay so this may be a short chapter. I was trying to continue it from Beth's perspective but I'm struggling to make it flow how I want. So rather than make y'all wait longer for me to get my ducks in a row, I figured I'd just make a short chapter of what I do have thus far! I hope you don't mind. I want to make sure the next part makes sense and doesn't just throw all this stuff together that I want included without any structure. That being said, here is the next mini chapter! Hope you enjoy! Thanks for all the support!**

**Daryl**

He should've been there. Tyros was just down the hall, no distance at all really, but Daryl still hadn't made it in time. Tyros had passed in his sister's arms as his entire family looked on. Daryl had stepped in to make sure Tyreese didn't turn; he felt it was his responsibility. He should've been there to prevent this, but he hadn't been. Now he couldn't stop thinking about it.

...

**Carol**

The sun beat down on them as they trudged along. Shire wilt Estates was miles behind them; Rick and the others had seen some disturbing things inside and felt it best to move on.

So they buried Tyreese as Father Gabriel prayed over his body. Yet another unmarked grave that they'd never be able to return to.

The loss of Tyreese weighed heavily on Carol's heart. She had confessed her crime against him - how she had been the one to kill and burn Karen back at the prison - and had been fully prepared to accept the consequences. Yet Tyreese had chosen to forgive her.

Things between them had been a bit rocky after that, understandably so. But he stuck with her. It had bonded them together in an odd way.

Seeing him bleeding out on the ground, pale and trembling, had shocked Carol. She hadn't been prepared for that; she wasn't ready to lose Tyreese.

Carol wasn't the only one reeling from his loss. Sasha was in a daze; she wouldn't speak, avoided the others, and was overly-aggressive with any oncoming walkers. His death had broke her.

And Daryl . . . poor Daryl. He was sullen and distant. He constantly made hunting an excuse to be alone whenever they stopped for the afternoon. Carol knew what he was doing; blaming himself, harboring guilt. He wasn't at fault, but he believed he was and was punishing himself for it.

When the group decided to stop for the afternoon one day and Daryl once again decided to hunt, Carol invited herself along.

"You look like you could use some company," was all the reason she supplied.

He stalked off without waiting to see if she followed. She trailed along behind him as he wove through the woods. He didn't speak for a long while, the only sound the rustle of dry, dead leaves and breaking twigs.

"It wasn't your fault you know . . ." she said, breaking the silence. He stopped and turned to look at her, his face a solemn mask.

"I was clearing the same house as him. I should've had his back."

"Sometimes thing are beyond our control," she replied.

"Hmm," he grumbled.

Carol stepped closer to him. He fixed those dark blue eyes on her and she felt something stir deep inside her. She'd been trying to suppress the feelings she'd developed for Daryl for a long time now, but she didn't want to deny them any longer. The loss of Tyreese served as a bitter reminder that every day was an uncertainty; she or Daryl could go just as easily, and she didn't want that to happen without knowing she at least gave this a shot.

He raised his eyebrows in question and Carol realized their close proximity. She might not get another chance alone like this with Daryl; it was now or never.

She closed her eyes and kissed him. It was a chaste kiss and when she pulled back she saw the shock on Daryl's face.

"Carol . . ." he stuttered.

She held up her hand to silence him.

"I like you, Daryl. I have for a while and I think you know that." she began."I _know_ you. You're my closest friend and I've been afraid to mess that up but I needed to do that."

"Carol, I can't," he replied awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.

"Daryl, I'm sorry I'm throwin' this on you now. I know you've got a lot on your mind, and this . . . this was unexpected, but -"

Daryl shook his head, cutting her off. "It's not that. I just can't."

"Oh," she murmured.

"I'm sorry."

Carol nodded, trying not to cry; his rejection stung.

"That's fine," she replied. "Let's just pretend this didn't happen."

"Carol - "

"I said just forget it!" she insisted as she walked away, leaving Daryl standing alone.

**Like I said, very short and I'm sorry for that. I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Maybe that will help me with my storyline anyways. Hope you enjoyed my very short chapter!**


	9. 9: Washed Clean

**Hello all! I must say i was a bit surprised to see so many people saying they can't wait to see if Beth gives Carol a piece of her mind after my last chapter. I'll go ahead and say you won't find that here . . . not just yet anyways. I'm toying with some situations in my mind for future chapters so hang in there lol. Moving right along, here is my next chapter. I'm glad this one came fairly easily and didn't take so long. I don't know that the next one will come as easily so hopefully this holds you over. Thank y'all so much for reading/favoriting/reviewing/following. i appreciate each and every like and review I receive! It means so much. Enjoy!**

**Daryl**

Three days since Carol's kiss and Daryl still hadn't told Beth about it. He had no intentions of hiding it, he just couldn't seem to find an opportunity to get her isolated from the group.

It hadn't rained in weeks. The earth was scorched and the creeks and ponds bone-dry. Any free time they had was spent scavenging for food and water, both of which they couldn't seem to find.

All the while, Carol was steadfastly avoiding Daryl. He couldn't blame her; he hadn't even given her a reason for his rejection. She had to puzzle over his lame excuse of 'I just can't'; she had put her heart - and pride - on the line when she kissed him and he basically blew her off.

"They're catching up." Glenn's words shook Daryl from his train of thought.

A small herd had been following them all day not. They didn't have the energy to outrun them and definitely not enough strength to fight them all off; the heat and thirst was taking its toll.

"I've got an idea," Rick replied wearily, pointing to a small bridge ahead.

The idea was clever, Daryl had to admit. The group split into two and lined the sides of the small overpass; as the walkers approached they could easily toss them down the hill the bridge cut through, saving the group much-needed energy.

It started out well enough. The herd was spread out, allowing Daryl and the others to handle them one at a time. The plan only backfired when Sasha strode forward to take on numerous walkers at once.

"Get back, Sasha!" Michonne warned.

Sasha blatantly ignored Michonne; she cut and slashed her way through the oncoming herd.

Michonne rushed forward and grabbed Sasha's arm; Sasha turned, knife raised, until she saw who held onto her. She glared at Michonne as she wrenched her arm free. She continued on in a rage, recklessly ruining Rick's plan.

When a couple of walkers got through and nearly got Glenn, Michonne had had enough. She shoved Sasha to the ground, kicking her knife from her hand.

"You're gonna get someone killed. I _told_ you to stop."

Sasha didn't reply; she pushed herself up and stormed ahead of the others as Rick and Daryl took down the last few walkers.

"Maybe this is a good time for a break?" Rick suggested.

The way Sasha had been acting, Daryl couldn't disagree. Plus, he couldn't think of a better chance to get Beth alone, even in light of all the drama that had just unfolded.

"Gonna look for water," Daryl announced. He looked to Beth and she took the hint, following him into the woods.

Daryl knew they wouldn't actually find any water; they did find a cabin, though. Daryl stopped beside Beth as she took in the sight of the cabin, a smile playing at her lips.

Even with her ponytail all frizzed up and the beginnings of a sunburn peeking through a thin layer of grime, Beth Greene was radiant when she smiled. Daryl wasn't overly anxious to wipe that smile off, but he had to tell her what happened.

"Beth . . ."

She turned that smile on him and he nearly backed out, then and there.

"Think this cabin has any moonshine?" she teased. When he didn't answer she became concerned. "Daryl, what's wrong?"

"Carol kissed me," he practically blurted; he never was one to beat around the bush.

"What? When?" she asked, all traces of her beautiful smile gone.

"The other day when she followed me to hunt. Been tryin' to tell ya, but we haven't been alone since then."

Beth crossed her arms. He wished she'd respond, but she seemed to be mulling over her next words carefully.

"Did you kiss her back?" she asked meekly.

"No." Daryl was firm in his response, leaving no room for question.

Beth appeared to relax a bit at that, but her brow was still knit together in worry.

"Did you tell her about us?"

"No," he replied once more. "We agreed to wait 'til we settled somewhere."

"That could be _months_ from now for all we know. You _know_ that. I think it's time."

"I don't think -" he began.

"Unless you've changed your mind about us?" Beth cut him off.

"You know I haven't."

"It won't be as bad as you're imagining it. We'll tell them together," she offered softly.

Daryl nodded, not trusting his voice. How could he be so anxious for something that would have to come out eventually anyways?

"You mad?" he finally managed, his voice a gruff whisper.

Beth wrapped her slender arms around his waist and he automatically hugged her back, something he never used to do.

"I'm glad you didn't hide it," she said thoughtfully. "And I know Carol doesn't know about us yet so I'm gonna let this slide, but if she kisses you _again_, she and I are gonna have a problem."

Daryl smirked as he pulled Beth in tighter; he had to admire his girl's spunk.

...

**Beth**

The closer she and Daryl got to their camp on the road, the more jittery Beth got. She was trying very hard to be reasonable about what happened with Carol; the older woman didn't know about Beth and Daryl after all - no one did - so Beth couldn't really hold it against her.

That's what the logical part of Beth thought anyways. The emotional part, on the other hand, had a touch of anger and jealousy teeming just beneath the surface, waiting to break free.

Beth kept those feelings in check as best she could, but she was worried about how she'd feel and act towards Carol now; especially now that she and Daryl planned to reveal their relationship. The last thing their group needed was petty drama.

As they came upon the road, Beth took a deep breath to steady herself. Stepping into camp, however, Beth's calm resolve quickly dissipated at the scene before her.

Three large dogs faced their people, teeth bared and growling. The group had settled down for the evening and none appeared to have their weapons in hand.

Daryl and Beth's arrival did not go unnoticed by the snarling animals; one turned to face them and emitted a low growl, the hair on its neck and back standing straight up. Daryl eased slowly in front of Beth to block her from harm should the dog attack. He steadily raised his bow, aiming for the mutt before them.

His finger had barely reached the trigger when three loud shots rang out. The dogs dropped and lay motionless; Beth peered around Daryl to see Sasha lowering her gun. Daryl lowered his bow too and went to make sure the dogs were dead.

"Anyone hungry?" he asked.

"What?" Beth gasped.

"No sense lettin' good meat go to waste," Daryl replied simply.

No one disagreed with that sentiment, so Daryl set to work prepping the animals for a meal. Beth felt sad for the dead animals as she watched Daryl move them to the side of the road; all three had collars on - they had had homes and families that loved and cared for them once. They had only evolved into something feral to survive, just as Beth's group had.

Beth turned away as Daryl worked on them. She didn't want to think on it anymore.

By the time the meat was cooked though, her stomach was rumbling too much to let her feelings get in the way. She ate gladly and was thankful to be full for once.

As everyone finished up, Beth looked to Daryl. Now seemed as good a time as any to come clean to the others. He gave a slight nod in silent agreement; but as Beth went to get the group's attention, the sound of thunder rumbled in the distance.

The paused in anticipation, listening for more. The thunder boomed again. And then, she felt it; only a drop or two at first, but then the sky opened up and it poured. Everyone got to their feet and looked to the sky.

Beth tilted her head back and let the cool water fall on her face, washing away the dried sweat and dirt. She opened her mouth and caught the drops on her tongue, savoring what little she got. She had been beginning to think the drought would never end and was more than glad to be proved wrong.

Beth looked at her family as they too basked in the blessed rain. After the tension of the past few weeks, this was what they needed - to be washed clean, to be renewed.

She looked to Daryl who was already staring at her. His hair was plastered to his face and his clothes soaked through, and unlike the others, he wasn't looking to the sky in awe and wonder, only at her.

Beth wanted to go to him, to wrap him up in her arms. But another boom of thunder and a flash of lightning filled the sky, and the wind was picking up and starting to howl fiercely. As needed as the rain had been, it was quickly evolving into a storm and they wouldn't be safe outdoors much longer.

"We need to find shelter!" Rick shouted over the gusty wind.

"Beth and I found a cabin. I'll lead the way, c'mon!" Daryl called in return.

Beth gathered her belongings with the others and followed after Daryl into the woods. Luckily the cabin wasn't far; they cleared it in a matter of minutes and rushed inside to take shelter.

The doors rattled from the wind as it howled past and the thunder grumbled on. They huddled together on the cold dirt floor of the old shack to keep warm, unable to start a fire with no kindling available.

Maggie took watch beside the large double doors; they hadn't been inside long when she called out in alarm.

"Y'all, we have a problem!"

Beth glanced up to see her sister bracing herself against the doors. "Walkers!" Maggie cried.

Beth and the others ran to join Maggie, barring the doors with their bodies as the moans of the unexpected herd filled the air and the storm raged on around them.

**I'm gonna pick up the storm storyline at the beginning of the next chapter and continue from there, loosely following the show's plot. I don't own anything, just playing with it a bit. Hope y'all enjoyed!**


	10. 10: Gonna Make It

**Continuing on with the storm scenario! I did borrow some dialogue once again from the show but I don't anything or any characters. Thanks for reading!**

**Maggie**

Maggie used every ounce of strength left in her body to bar the doors. Her feet slid on the dirt floor and her arms shook with exertion, but the two doors were all that stood between her family and a hungry herd of walkers and she was not about to give in.

The others were equally exhausted but the determination in their eyes matched her own. They stood together, weak but unwilling to give up, as the herd scratched and pushed against the doors.

Suddenly, the wind picked up and the walls of the small barn trembled around them. Maggie heard a rumbling that she could only compare to the sound of a freight train barreling down the tracks. The walkers' groans were momentarily drowned out by the roar of the storm and then went quiet altogether; the roar died away as suddenly as it had appeared.

Maggie slacked up enough to peek through the crack between the doors; it was pitch black outside, but when a streak of lightning lit up the sky she could see that the herd was gone.

"It's over," she breathed, sliding to the floor.

"Don't say that! Don't give up!" Beth said urgently.

"No, no! _They're gone_. We're okay!" Maggie laughed. They all gazed down at her in shock before plopping down on the floor themselves.

Relief flooded through her and she finally felt how tired she truly was as she slowly drifted into a dreamless sleep.

...

Maggie was the first to wake; it looked like no one had thought to keep watch after the night's grueling ordeal.

She rolled onto her side in time to see that she was not the only one awake anymore; Sasha was up and slipping out the barn doors.

Maggie figured Sasha wanted her space - that seemed to be all she wanted these days - but she followed her anyways. As soon as Maggie stepped outside her mouth fell open in awe; trees were uprooted and snapped in two all around the cabin. Walkers were p inner beneath the overturned trees, impaled by branches, weakly gurgling.

Sasha turned to see Maggie behind her, looking just as shocked as Maggie.

"Look at this. This should've torn us apart." Sasha said.

"It didn't though," Maggie replied as she passed by Sasha, walking through the wreckage to a nearby hill.

She sat on a moss covered log and breathed out a deep sigh; Sasha joined her.

"Why are we here?"

"For this," Maggie whispered, staring ahead to the rising sun. It cast a warm orange glow on the fields before them. It was oddly calming.

"I don't know if I'm gonna make it," Sasha suddenly admitted.

"Yes you will. Both of us, we will. That's the hard part." Maggie replied sadly.

"Hey," a man's voice came from their right. Both women jumped to their feet and trained their guns on him.

"Sorry to startle you . . . my name is Aaron." he said calmly, hands raised in surrender.

Maggie gave him a once-over as he eased into view; his hair was cut short and neat. No facial hair. He didn't seem to have a speck of dirt or filth on him and his clothes looked like he'd just stepped out of a J. Crew magazine. He was too clean-cut and put together for the world they lived in now and it made Maggie uneasy.

"I know, stranger danger. But I'm a friend. I'd like to talk to the person in charge . . . Rick, right?"

"How do you know that?" Maggie demanded.

He smiled kindly at her. "I have good news."

...

**Daryl**

The soft thud of the cabin's doors opening and closing roused Daryl from his sleep. He sat up, stretching, and looked around at his sleeping family.

Standing, he looked out the door to see Maggie and Sasha surveying the storm's damage. No one else seemed to be up and moving yet, so he quietly walked to the other side of the barn to have a smoke.

He'd only taken one drag when Beth appeared, strolled right up to him and took the cigarette from his lips. She tossed it down and stamped it out with her boot.

"The hell . . .?" he began to protest until Beth's lips crashed down on his, effectively silencing him.

Beth had thrown caution to the wind, not caring that one wall was all that barely concealed the two's embrace from the others' hopefully no one would wake yet because Daryl couldn't handle them finding out about him and Beth like _this._

Beth's hands tangled in his hair as she rose up on her tip toes to better reach Daryl's mouth. Her kisses were warm and desperate and Daryl's head swam as he pulled her in tight, matching her fervor with every kiss.

She pulled back first and buried her head against his chest.

"What was that about?" he panted.

"I'm sorry," she whispered breathlessly. "I just . . . last night, I wasn't so sure we'd make it."

He rested his head on top of hers, breathing her in; he'd felt the same way and was grateful to still be alive and well and standing there with Beth in his arms.

"Daryl?" At the sound of Rick's voice, Daryl reluctantly released Beth and stepped back into view of the others, Beth following close behind.

Everyone was starting to wake up.

"Y'all seen Maggie or Sasha?" Rick asked.

"Saw 'em checkin' the perimeter earlier." Daryl replied.

Beth offered to feed Judith so Rick could get a fire started; Daryl looked around the barn for anything they could eat, coming up empty-handed. He was about to offer to go hunt for some breakfast when the doors opened, signaling Maggie and Sasha's return.

They weren't alone though. The two had their guns pointed at a man they led into the barn. Daryl and the others quickly gathered around, pulling their own weapons in case.

"Check him," Rick commanded, eyeing the stranger in their midst.

"We already checked him," Maggie protested.

"Check him," Rick repeated, ignoring Maggie.

Daryl stepped forward and frisked the man, finding no weapons.

"He's clean," he announced.

"My name is Aaron. I don't mean you any harm, Rick." the man said. "I've been watchin' your group and have good news. I'm a recruited for a sanctuary . . . the Alexandria Safe Zone, we call it. I want you and your people to join us."

"You been followin' us?" Rick asked menacingly.

"Well, yes." Aaron admitted. "We have to be careful about who we let in."

"Mmhmm," Rick mused. "We tried a sanctuary before. . . didn't work out so well. They tried to kill us and, well, that left a bad taste in our mouths as you can imagine."

Aaron ignored the skepticism and malice in Rick's voice and continued on. "I understand, there are people out there that have lost their humanity. That's why we carefully scout anyone we might let in. We have to protect our own. But this is a _real_ save haven. We have walls. Check my pack, I have pictures."

Maggie rummaged through Aaron's bag, producing the polaroids and handing them to Rick. Daryl looked over Rick's shoulder at the pictures; they were grainy and hard to see, but there they were - walls, houses, people.

"We have homes, water, food . . . it's safe and you'd all be more than welcome there." Aaron continued.

"Why recruit people? Why not keep this to yourself if it's so great?" Daryl asked.

"We have supplies and shelter, but our greatest resource is people. We need people in order to keep going. Y'all are good people. And you know how to survive. You deserve someplace safe and we could use your survival skills. It's a win-win."

"Rick?" Machine asked, taking the pictures from him.

"No," he replied, shaking his head.

"Rick!" she repeated. "This could be real."

"You wanna risk that again?" Rick snapped.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "I think we have to risk it or we're not gonna make it. We have no water, no food, and we're exhausted. If this place is legit, we could _settle_."

"_If_ it's legit. That's a mighty big if, Michonne." Rick replied.

"I think he's sincere," Maggie chimed in.

"I can take you there," Aaron offered. "If you don't feel right about it you can leave, I swear."

Rick was deep in thought. He looked conflicted. "Y'all really wanna chance this?"

"Yes, we do." Maggie spoke up. No one disagreed with her.

"Fine. But I drive." Rick decided. "You just tell me how to get there and we'll go."

"But our location, I have to protect our people . . ." Aaron began.

"You're inviting us in but you don't want us to know where it is?" Rick demanded.

"If y'all decide to leave we need our location to be secure." Aaron protested.

"If we decide to leave, we won't harm anyone unless you give us cause. Now, either I drive or we don't go at all."

"Fine," Aaron sighed. "I have an RV a few miles away."

Daryl glanced at the group and could see the same hope beginning to sparkle in each of their faces. Alexandria could be the answer to their prayers. Daryl wasn't so sure, but they had no other choice than to give it a shot.


	11. 11: Home

**Hello again! I feel pretty happy with this next chapter. I'll go ahead and tell you that I skipped the whole walker attack / group getting separated in the woods / flare gun situation that led to Alexandria. I didn't care for it in the show if I'm being honest so for the sake of my story we're gonna assume the RV breaking down was the most trouble they ran into. Hope y'all don't miss that little tidbit too much. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy! This is kind of a long one for me! Thanks for reading/favoriting :)**

**Carol**

The gates loomed before them and Carol couldn't help the pit that formed in her stomach. In all honesty, she had been on Rick's side when it came to Alexandria; she hadn't spoken up before because she had seen how much the others wanted to try this - she was outnumbered.

When the RV broke down on the way in the superstitious part of Carol, small as it was, screamed that that was a sign - they shouldn't go. But Glenn fixed the vehicle up in no time, so there they stood, waiting to go in. Aaron signaled to a man on the other side of the walls and the gates began to creep open. As they uneasily followed Aaron in, Carol was immediately shocked by how untouched, how _normal_, the community looked.

The streets were lined with large ivory houses, all with pristine green lawns. People were sitting on front porches and strolling the streets, relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. A couple of kids ran by with their pet dog trailing at their heels, barking happily. It made Carol sick to her stomach. These people had clearly been safely tucked behind the walls for a while. They didn't know what it was like out there; if they did, they wouldn't be smiling at Carol and the others like long-lost friends. They would be suspicious and guarded, as they _should_ be.

Aaron stopped at a large house at the edge of the community where a middle-aged woman stood waiting. She was probably a little older than Carol with short, red hair and a large smile.

"Welcome to the Alexandria Safe Zone," she said warmly. "I'm Deanna Monroe."

Rick stepped forward and shook her hand politely. "I'm Rick and this is my family."

Deanna nodded in their direction as a general greeting. "This is my husband, Reg, and our son, Aiden," she said, gesturing to two men standing behind her. The older man, Reg, had salt and pepper hair and glasses. His son Aiden looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties; a handsome young man with an overly-confident smile pasted on his face.

"We look forward to getting to know you all," Reg said kindly.

"If you don't mind my askin', how did y'all find this place?" Rick asked.

"We happened to be in town when it all started. Didn't want to risk traveling back to Ohio, so Reg started building these walls." Deanna replied.

"You built these walls? They're very impressive." Rick commented to Reg.

"Yes, thank you. I am . . . was an architect." Reg replied.

"So you've been in here the whole time?" Glenn chimed in.

Deanna nodded. "Yes. Which is why it's nice to have you all here; we could use your experience to make our community safer. We need survivors like you."

"I see," Rick replied. "I can see a few issues already. Like you unmanned guard tower."

Deanna looked thoughtful as she considered Rick's suggestion. "See? That is exactly why we need fresh eyes like yours! But we can discuss that tomorrow. You all look tired and you need time to settle in. We'll just gather any weapons you have and Aaron can take you to your home."

"Take our weapons?" Daryl asked gruffly.

"We have an armory. You can check them out any time you leave the safe zone of course. It's just a precaution." She assured.

Aides wheeled out a cart and looked at them expectantly. Carol didn't like this rule one bit. She always had her gun and several knives on her person; she'd feel exposed without them. But Rick stepped forward to reluctantly place all his weapons on the cart, causing the others to follow suit.

Carol tossed her knives on the cart easily; as for her gun, she pretended to have trouble living the strap over her head and fumbled with the large weapon as she added it to the pile.

"Ooh, heavy," she laughed nervously. _Let them think I'm a fidgety weakling_, she thought. _They won't expect any trouble from meek little Carol if they aren't as welcoming as they seem._

"C'mon y'all," Aaron called as Aiden loaded up the last of their weapons. "Your place is a couple streets over. Just wait 'til you see it!"

...

**Beth - one week later**

The group spent the entire first week walking on eggshells. Sure, they had food and shelter, running water (showers!) and clean clothes, but after living life outside the safety of walls for so long, it was hard to trust again.

That whole week they had slept crammed into the living room of one house even though that had been given two, yes _two,_ homes with multiple, fully-furnished bedrooms at their disposal. They had also maintained their guard duty schedule even though their doors locked and no one had ever disturbed them at night.

Deanna had started assigning them roles in the community, allowing them the opportunity to ease into a routine among their new neighbors. Maggie was Deanna's personal assistant, helping her keep order among the community. Glenn, Tara, and Daryl had been assigned to supply runs with Deanna's son, Aiden (who, by the way, Daryl was not overly-fond of after his obviously flirty introduction to Beth). Abe had been enlisted as a member of the construction crew, salvaging materials to fortify the walls and make any repairs. Rick and Machonne were constables; Rick was still wary of his new position, not understanding why Deanna would place newcomers in roles of authority so willingly; but at least with his new role he could enforce improved safety regulations, such as 24 hour guard tower duty, something Sasha volunteered for quite often.

Everyone else found odd-jobs to volunteer for to fill their time. Beth personally enjoyed helping out in Alexandria's small green house and gardens; the labor kept her busy and she was able to use the farming skills she'd learned from her father so long ago.

Beth could sense the suspicion among her family beginning to ebb away slowly; she was hoping the group's apprehension would disappear altogether. If they could get comfortable here, they could possibly live out the rest of their lives in their two little homes.

Until then, they'd keep taking baby steps to feeling at home in their new community; baby steps like attending the party that Deanna had planned to welcome them later that evening. Beth couldn't deny that she was excited to go; she'd even managed to find a dress that fit her in one of their already-stocked closets.

Now she just had to convince Daryl to go. He especially wasn't taking to their new homes easily;he avoided meeting the members of the safe zone if he could help it, preferring solitude or the company of their own people. Half the time he spent on the front porch to avoid being cooped up inside. The rest of the time he'd go retrieve his crossbow from storage (something else he didn't care much for) and would set out on his own to hunt.

Even knowing all that, Beth tried to persuade him to at least make an appearance.

"It'll be alright Daryl, really. They'll have food and drinks. And you don't have to talk to anybody you don't want to, you can just stick with me." Beth tried.

He rolled his eyes as he lounged easily against the porch's railing. "Go on without me," he insisted.

"All of our people are goin'. It won't be the same if you're not there."

"They'll all be meetin' new people and I'm still not exactly on speakin' terms with Carol."

She couldn't argue with him there. She decided to try a different angle.

"I'll be all dressed up though. C'mon, you've never really seen me in anything that's not covered in walker guts. I clean up well," she bribed. He tried to hide his smirk as he eyed her up and down briefly.

"You look fine now."

"Fine!" she sighed, defeated.

Daryl looked at her sadly. "This place isn't the same for me as it is for y'all. I never had a house like one of these, never woulda ended up in one either. I don't fit with these people or this place. I dunno if I'll ever be able to consider this place home, Beth. I'm sorry."

"You're not the only in our group that feels that way Daryl. You're not alone. Rick, Carol . . . they're havin' a hard time too. And as much as I like it here, if we were to lose this place too I wouldn't think of it as losing home. Our group is my home now. _You're_ my home."

He looked down at his shoes, digesting what she said. She placed her hand on his forearm and squeezed lightly, trying to comfort him some way.

"It's okay if you don't go." Beth said sweetly.

"Beth I . . ."

She put her finger to his mouth to shush him. "I'm serious Daryl, it's not a big deal. I'll just see you after, okay?"

Daryl nodded. "See you after."

...

**Daryl**

As Daryl stared at his reflection in the fogged-up mirror he felt ridiculous. He'd showered and trimmed his facial hair; he used his fingers to smooth down his freshly washed hair and had tried his best to find decent clothes. Nothing in the closets fit his taste so he'd ended up in his cleanest shirt, his vest, and a pair of jeans that were clean but pretty ripped up in places. He'd never cared what others thought of his appearance, but he'd talked himself into stopping by the party at Deanna's and he wanted to show Beth he was putting in _some_ effort.

Everyone else had left long ago, so Daryl would technically be late, but at least he was bothering to go at all. Exhaling deeply, he turned from his reflection and left for Deanna's. The walk was short and he hadn't run into anybody along the way; the whole community must already be in her house. Deanna's home was slightly larger than their two, with a wrap-around porch and huge yard. Dusk was falling as he approached and Daryl noticed the twinkling string lights Deanna must have hung up as decoration; a waste of precious energy if you asked him.

Muted sounds of laughter and conversation drifted onto the porch before Daryl had even reached the door. He dreaded going in and suffocating in the sea of people inside, but he'd faced worse and he'd already come this far.

Thankfully there were only a few people standing in the foyer as he entered; they gazed at him curiously and nodded polite hellos. He nodded in return and pressed on, eager to find Beth or one of his own people. The room he entered resembled a large dining room where several more people stood, drinking and talking. Luckily, Glenn was among them; seeing Daryl, he grabbed a beer and brought it over for him.

"Hey man, here ya go. Glad to see you," Glenn said, clapping him on the back. As outgoing as Glenn was, he looked tense; his eyes darted about the room and his shoulders were rigid. The crowd of people must have had a stressful affect on him as well. Daryl was glad to see he wasn't the only one to feel that way.

"Yeah . . . lot of people," Daryl noted gruffly.

"Wait 'til you get to the living room, that's where the _real_ party is. I needed a little space for a minute," Glenn replied.

Daryl made note to avoid that room as long as possible as he took a swig of his beer; it was cold and slightly bitter, a taste he enjoyed and thought he'd never experience again.

"Daryl?"

Daryl turned to see Beth enter the room, a glass of wine in her hand and a look of shock on her face. Daryl felt his breathing hitch in his chest as he looked at her; her hair was down and laid in loose waves around her face, which she had done up in a little make up. She wore a light pink dress - blush, he thought he'd heard it called before. The straps hung off her shoulders and dipped low, revealing the smooth skin of her chest and neck. It fit her slender waist and flared out at her hips, stopping just short of her knees, showing off her lean legs. She had on a pair of the most impractical pair of shoes in the world, heels, but it only added to her overall appearance. Daryl was awestruck and the smile Beth gave him showed that she knew the effect she was having.

She rushed forward and gave him a quick side hug. "I can't believe you came!" she beamed, releasing him. "What changed your mind?"

There that question was again. This time he wanted say it, to say _she_ did, but Glenn was right there and as much as he cared for Beth, he wasn't going to give Glenn any ammunition to taunt him. "I dunno. . ."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Well I'm glad you decided to come. C'mob, everyone else is in the living room," she said, motioning in the direction she had just come from.

"Um, I'm gonna go find Maggie. I think she said she was goin' to the kitchen," Glenn excused himself quickly.

"He really doesn't like it in there," Beth sighed. "It is a lot of people though . . . you just wanna stay here?"

Daryl shrugged. He could hear the laughter floating in from the main room; Beth seemed like she had been enjoying the crowd and Daryl didn't want to deprive her of that. She deserved any bit of normalcy she could come by.

"Nah, I'll go. Not a big deal," he offered. She cast him another beaming smile and turned to lead the way.

Glenn hadn't exaggerated about the real party being in the main room; the place was packed. As Daryl glanced about, he could see his people scattered here and there. None of them exactly looked at ease, but they all had on their best party face, trying to fit in with these worry-free people.

Then the person he didn't want to see was standing right in front of them. Aiden. He was the exact opposite of Daryl in every way; his hair was short and well-kept. He wore a button up shirt tucked into perfectly pressed khakis. He was somewhat younger and definitely more clean-cut. He also happened to be extremely arrogant and spoiled. Not to mention the fact that he looked at Beth like she was some kind of prize he was intent on winning.

Even though Daryl would eventually start going on supply runs with the guy, he couldn't stand him and he certainly didn't want to talk to him now.

"Daryl, right?"

"Mmhmm," Daryl grunted.

"Didn't think we'd see you here," Aiden replied casually.

Daryl took another swig of his beer so he wouldn't have to reply; he was pretty sure nothing pleasant would come out of his mouth if he did. Aiden didn't seem to mind though, as his eyes were already on Beth.

"You gonna play another one for us Beth?" he asked.

"Play another what?" Daryl asked.

Beth flushed pink and smiled sheepishly up at Daryl. "They have a piano," she said, nodding towards a corner of the room where a small, black piano sat. "I played a few songs before you got here. I think I'm done for the night though."

"You should play another," Daryl said.

"Really?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah," he insisted. Truth be told, he'd wanted to hear her sing again since that night at the funeral home, he just never could work up the nerve to ask.

"Yeah Beth, one more!" Aiden added.

"Okay!" she agreed readily. She sat her wine glass down on a nearby table and made her way through the crowd to the little piano. As she took her seat, people turned to clap and cheer her on. Daryl could see her blush from where he stood across the room.

"She's somethin' isn't she?" Aiden asked with a cocky smile. His tone rubbed Daryl the wrong way.

"Yeah, she is."

Beth paused a moment, probably deciding what to play. Everyone went quiet as she sat in consideration, a look of concentration on her face. Then she smiled to herself and laid her fingers on the keys, beginning a steady rhythm.

The music was soft and sweet as her fingers moved gracefully across the keys. She closed her eyes as she began to sing.

_"Somethin' in your eyes, makes me wanna lose myself . . . makes me wanna lose myself, in your arms. There's somethin' in your voice, makes my heart beat fast. Hope this feelin' lasts . . . the rest of my life."_

Beth swayed slightly as she sang, her voice ringing out clear and strong. She opened her large blue eyes and looked past the throng of people gathered around her, right to where Daryl stood, fixing her steady gaze on him as she continued.

_"If you knew how lonely my life had been . . . And how long I've been so alone. And if you knew how I wanted someone to come along, and change my life the way you've done. . .It feels like home to me, feels like home to me . . . It feels like I'm all the way back where I come from. It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me. It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong."_

It wasn't a song Daryl recognized, but something about the lyrics made his stomach knot up. Or maybe it was the fact that he had a sneaking suspicion that Beth had chosen this particular song for a reason; that maybe she had intended the lyrics specifically for him.

"_A window breaks, down a long, dark street. And a siren wails . . . in the night. But I'm alright, 'cause I have you here with me. And I can almost see, through the dark there is light. . . Well, if you knew how much this moment means to me. And how long I've waited for your touch. . .And if you knew how happy you are makin' me, I never thought that I'd love anyone so much . . ."_

Daryl swallowed hard. He felt like that knot had migrated from his stomach to his chest. Was Beth really saying what he thought she was, or was he reading too much into a silly song?

"_It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me . . . it feels like I'm all the way back where I come from. It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me. It feels like I"m all the way back where I belong. . . it feels like I'm all the way back . . . where I belong . . ."_

She held the last note, her fingers dancing effortless across the keys, before fading out. The room was silent for a moment before erupting in applause. Beth rose and gave a small bow. Several people called for another but Beth politely declined, instead weaving through the crowd to re-join Daryl.

"Bravo!" Aiden called theatrically as Beth approached; she nodded a thanks but never took her eyes of Daryl.

A shiver went up Daryl spine and that knot in his chest wound a little tighter as Beth grabbed hold of his hand, a mischievous gleam in her eyes, and tugged him along.

"C'mon," she said breathlessly. "Let's get out of here."

...

**Ooooh where are they going? Guess we'll see next time! **

**But seriously, I'm sorry i keep stringing along the fact that they STILL haven't told anybody about them yet. I like the idea of them getting comfortable romantically before letting the cat out of the bag though. I promise I'll be kind and end the secrecy very very soon (possibly next chapter soon?) ;)**

**Also, the song used is Feels Like Home, written by Randy Newman. But I like the Edwina Hayes version (from My Sister's Keeper) so that's the one I listened to while picturing that little moment. I hope it didn't come across corny or lame, I just love those lyrics for Bethyl. I struggled between that song and Make You Feel My Love, but I figured I could tie this one in better. Anyways, I'm rambling now. I hope y'all enjoyed it, I really do! **


	12. 12: All the Difference

**I'm so sorry this took like a week to get posted. I only write when I'm the only one home and that hasn't been the case this past week. I apologize!**

**This next chapter has some ****more lovey-dovey type stuff and a little conflict. I'm pretty happy with this chapter and I hope y'all will be too. The next chapter will probably have some other characters' POV, just bear with me if I don't get it out as quickly as I'd like. Thanks for all favs/comments/follows. Keep 'em comin'!**

**Daryl**

Beth held firmly onto Daryl's arm as she led him through the maze of people and onto the front porch. She didn't stop there, however, continuing down the stairs and into the empty street. She released her grip on his forearm and slid her hand into his instead as they began walking in their own home's direction.

Daryl wasn't sure what had suddenly made Beth want to leave the party, but he wasn't going to question it; he'd barely been there an hour and he'd already had more than his fill.

"Thank you," Beth said suddenly.

"For what?" he asked.

"For coming to the party."

" 's nothin'."

Beth squeezed his hand. "It wasn't nothin' to me."

Daryl ran his thumb idly back and forth across Beth's tiny hand in his own. He was relieved he had done something right; he had been worried he wouldn't be any good with the whole relationship thing to begin with.

They fell into a comfortable silence the rest of the way back; Beth didn't offer any details of the party before Daryl's arrival. Maybe she figured he'd seen enough to get the gist of it. She did, however, hum the melody of the song she had sang back at Deanna's. Daryl listened as she hummed the tune and felt warm all over again. It was funny how she managed to make him feel that way without even trying.

As they reached their yard, she once again pulled him along, leading him into the group's second house that they had yet to occupy. Daryl couldn't imagine why she wanted to go inside the empty house, but he followed along without question. Beth entered the darkened home and immediately led him up the stairs to the second floor. She continued to a room at the very end of the hall, ushering him in behind her.

As Daryl entered the small room, he could clearly see that it had been in use. Multiple books lay strewn across the floor. The bedding was slightly rumpled. Makeup was scattered across a wooden desk that sat underneath the room's sole window. It had Beth written all over it.

He sat on the corner of the bed and watched as Beth kicked off her heels. "Looks like you've made yourself right at home," he joked.

"Yeah, I've got dibs on this room if we can ever convince Rick to let us split up. For now, I've been comin' here when I want to be alone," she explained.

She sat down next to him, kissing him softly on his cheek. He looked to her as she ran her fingers lightly through his hair.

"Daryl?"

"Hmm?" he mumbled, leaning into her touch.

"I love you."

Daryl went still, staring at her. He wasn't sure he'd heard her correctly. She was silent as she took in his reaction, but he couldn't bring himself to respond. He was in disbelief that a girl like Beth Greene could possibly love someone like him.

"You don't have to say it back if you're not ready . . ." she added in a rush, filling the awkward silence. Her cheeks flushed pink and he instantly felt guilty for staying quiet so long.

" 's not that . . . just don't think anyone's ever said that to me before," Daryl admitted solemnly.

"No one?" Beth asked sadly. Daryl shook his head.

"Then you should know that I've never said that to anyone outside of my family before," she replied.

Daryl shook his head in disbelief. He found it very hard to believe that sweet, affectionate Beth had never told any of her boyfriends that she loved them.

"You're tellin' me you never told that Jimmy kid you loved him?" Daryl asked.

"Nope. Not him, or any other boy for that matter." she said matter of factly.

"Why not?" Daryl was genuinely curious.

"My mama always told me to save my 'I love you's' She said that love is a serious emotion and you shouldn't tell someone you love them unless you really, truly mean it. . . that the phrase shouldn't be tossed around like it was nothin'. She told me to save it for the right person, that way it would mean more." Beth dropped her gaze down to her folded hands in her lap as she spoke. Daryl could see her eyes water up, knowing it was hard for her to talk about her mother. He took her hand in his and she smiled up at him. "I love you, Daryl. I know it's real and I just wanted you to know."

Daryl swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly very dry. Not only had Beth Greene just confessed her love to him, he was the only man she'd ever said it to romantically. All this time she had reserved her heart for one person, and she had chosen him. The realization absolutely floored Daryl.

"I love you too."

...

**Beth**

" I love you too."

Beth's smile felt like it stretched from ear to ear. Daryl Dixon loved her.

She leaned in close to Daryl, cradling his face in her hands, and kissed him. He brought his hands to her hips as he easily accepted her soft kisses. She ran her tongue along his bottom lip and he readily opened up to her, deepening the kiss.

As Daryl's hands moved to Beth's back, drawing her into his lap, she became painfully aware just how alone they were; usually, any number of their people were close by, so they always cut any intimate moments short for fear of being interrupted. Now, everyone was busy at Deanna's party and there was no reason to stop; the thought sent a chill down Beth's spine, her skin erupting in goosebumps.

She slowly leaned back until her back was against the soft bed and Daryl had shifted to hover above her. He supported himself with his arms but the rest of his weight rested against Beth's small frame; she'd never been in a position like this before and the feel of him on top of her was intoxicating.

She pulled against him, bringing him even closer; he adjusted to support one arm against the bed, leaving his other hand free to roam. He ran his fingertips lightly up and down her side, gliding over her ribcage and hips. She responded by running her hands underneath his shirt to explore the soft skin of his back. Her fingers grazed over the puckered contours of his scars, memorizing every line. Beth moved her hands back around front to trace the hard planes of Daryl's stomach and chest, pausing over the small patch of chest hair. She longed to feel every inch of his skin and, without giving it much thought, began to lift his shirt upwards.

Daryl pulled back slightly, panting, and looked at her questioningly. "Beth," he breathed. "Maybe we should stop."

That was the last thing Beth had expected Daryl to say. She panted for breath as well as she studied his worried face. "You want to stop?" she asked, slightly perplexed.

"I don't _want_ to but . . . have you ever . . .?" he let the question hang there unfinished. His eyes were downcast and he seemed terribly uncomfortable even hinting at what he was asking her.

"No, I haven't," she whispered unsteadily.

He rested his forehead against hers and sighed. "I don't wanna hurt you," he replied tenderly.

Beth reached up to cup his face. "It'll be okay, Daryl. I want to be with you." She kissed him, trying to reassure him with her actions. Daryl hesitated a moment and Beth thought that he might make them stop, but then she felt his lips moving against hers and she smiled against his mouth.

He smiled momentarily too before moving his kisses to her earlobe, nipping and kissing his way down her neck to her collarbone. Her breathing was getting faster and her skin felt hot as he peppered his warm kisses along her exposed shoulder and back up to her neck.

She resumed removing his shirt and this time he let her. She felt his hands sliding up her legs, the calloused hands on her smooth thighs making her sigh. His hands stilled at the hem of her dress, toying with the fabric in an unspoken question; she hastily nodded and lifted herself slightly so Daryl could slide the dress over her head. She lay back in only her strapless bra and panties, feeling a blush bloom across her cheeks as Daryl took in her exposed form.

He kissed her neck again, once more working his way down; this time he didn't stop at her collarbone, though. He gently reached around to unfasten her bra and tossed it aside, steadily continuing his trail of kisses downwards. Beth gasped as he reached the newly uncovered skin, the sensation new and wonderful.

She moved her hands from his back to his waist and began to shakily unfasten his belt buckle. It took some effort but once it was undone, Daryl helped her kick his jeans and boots off and to the floor. He grabbed one of her legs and hitched it up around his waist , pressing into her. Beth let out a full on moan as she felt him against her. Daryl bit down gently on her neck to stifle his own groan, the sound resonating through her. She wanted him to make that sound again.

Daryl removed the last articles of clothing separating them and pulled Beth's other leg around his hips. He kissed her fiercely until she writhed beneath him.

"I'm ready," she panted.

He paused, looking at her seriously despite all the want and need in his eyes. "You stop me if I hurt you or do somethin' you don't like. Promise me."

"I promise," she replied, gripping his shoulders to steady herself. Now that it was really about to happen she was all nerves.

He reached between them, gently bringing them together. Beth bit down on his shoulder to keep from crying out; Daryl went dead still as she adjusted, the feeling tight and painful. He kissed her face and lips as she slowly but surely relaxed. Beth nodded as the pain began to subside and Daryl began to move very carefully. As Beth's body adapted to his, she began to move in time with him. Daryl moaned loudly, causing Beth to dig her nails into the skin of his arms; she loved that sound more than anything she'd heard before.

Daryl's pace quickened and Beth moved right along with him. Daryl moved to bury his face where Beth's neck met shoulder, sighing against her skin. Her skin pebbled as his hot breath ghosted across her bare skin.

"Beth . . ." he rasped as his movement became erratic. He groaned once more, shuddered, then collapsed against her. He lay on top of her and she could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage where his skin met hers. They were both sweaty and spent, but utterly blissful.

"I'm sorry you didn't . . . you didn't . . ." he panted, unable to finish his thought. Beth silenced him with a kiss.

"That's what you're worried about?"

"I want it to be good for you too," he said gently.

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his neck. "It was perfect. I'll get to . . . you know . . .finish, with practice," she teased.

He smirked down at her. "Practice, huh?"

"Oh yes, lot and _lots_ of practice!"

...

**Daryl - another week later**

Week two in the safe zone was already beginning to look up in Daryl's opinion; then again, that could just be because Beth pulled him into the unoccupied house every free moment they got to "practice", as she had so eloquently called it.

Every time was better than before and neither of them could get enough; Beth had said she could see now why Maggie and Glenn did it so much, even when they didn't have much privacy; Daryl had to agree with her.

Being with Beth was unlike anything he'd done before. Daryl had had his fair share of hook ups with sleezy bar chicks; scantily clad, rough voices, caked on makeup, and the stench of one too many cigarettes, they had all left Daryl feeling empty and used. Beth was the polar opposite; beautiful and gentle and she always smelled like this honeysuckle soap she'd found in one of the bathrooms. And she loved Daryl; she loved him and that made all the difference.

"What are you grinnin' about?"

Daryl had been absentmindedly gathering his gear for a supply run with Glenn and Aiden as his thoughts wandered to Beth; he realized he had a stupid grin plastered on his face and quickly removed it as Glenn approached with a mischievous smile on his own face.

"Nothin'. You ready to go?" Daryl changed the subject. Glenn didn't know about him and Beth, but he was always looking for a reason to tease people and Daryl wasn't in the mood to be the butt of his jokes.

"Yeah. Aiden said he'd meet us by the greenhouse," Glenn replied.

Aiden didn't work in the greenhouse or the surrounding gardens, but Daryl had a feeling he knew why he'd picked it as their meeting location anyways; today was one of Beth's days to help tend the gardens and Aiden knew that as well as Daryl did.

Daryl hated the way Aiden "conveniently" placed himself in Beth's path; he hated the way his eyes followed her as she walked away; he hated everything about Aiden's attitude around Beth. Beth told Daryl to ignore Aiden, but he had a hard time of it when the guy was clearly interested in her.

"Let's get goin'," Daryl huffed as he slung his own over his shoulder.

The two men set off towards the center of town where the greenhouse resided. Daryl walked at a faster than normal pace; it was already noon, judging by the sun overhead, and he wanted to get moving and get the run over with before dark. Plus, he wanted to make sure Aiden didn't have too much time alone around Beth.

As they approached the gardens, several of the people harvesting vegetables glanced up at Daryl and Glenn. Carol was among them today and quickly looked away; Daryl sighed in exasperation; he was going to have to get her to talk to him sooner or later.

"You seen Aiden?" Glenn asked as he scanned the small garden.

"I think he went in the greenhouse," Carol replied without looking up.

Daryl followed Glenn to the compact glass building. It appeared empty save for the lush green plant life, but then Daryl head Beth's voice.

"I'd prefer not to."

She sounded falsely polite; almost annoyed.

"C'mon Beth, just a little one," came Aiden's smooth voice in return.

Daryl rushed in the direction of the voices, Glenn hurrying to keep up. In the far corner of the building, Beth stood with a watering can in one hand and her work gloves rolled up in the other. Her face was smudged with dirt and her hair was tied back in a braid that dangled across her shoulder. Her eyes were narrowed in frustration and Daryl could see why; Aiden was blocking Beth from escaping the small corner of the building, his back to Glenn and Daryl.

"I said _no_." Beth said firmly.

Aiden reached up to play with the braid that rested against Beth's pale shoulder, no doubt grinning his usual crap-eating grin. Beth tried to step away, but was already backed into the corner too far to move any more.

"Just one kiss for good luck. You never know when one of these runs will go sour. You might regret it if you don't give me just one little kiss." he coaxed.

"I doubt it," Beth countered.

Aiden leaned his hands against the glass on either side of Beth, fully trapping her. His face was too close to hers and she couldn't back away anymore. Daryl felt his skin heating up as he saw that SOB cornering Beth; Glenn stepped forward first, a scowl on his face, but Daryl quickly surpassed him, reaching Aiden first.

He grabbed the man's shoulder and yanked him back. Beth stared at Daryl wide-eyed and relieved as she was able to run from the corner to where Glenn stood. Aiden turned with a look of pure indignation on his face as he yelled, "What the -?"

Daryl didn't give Aiden any time to finish his protest, bringing his fist down full force on the man's smug little face. Daryl put all his strength into the punch, sending Aiden backwards through the fragile glass. The pane shattered around him as Aiden fell back into the garden, crushing the surrounding plants as he landed. The sound of their brawl brought those working in the gardens running, their faces a mixture of shock and annoyance as they grasped the scene before them.

"What happened?!" Carol asked urgently.

"He had Beth cornered in there!" Glenn replied angrily.

Daryl was still busy glaring down at the man on the ground. Aiden rubbed at his jaw where Daryl struck him as he struggled to his feet. "You got a problem, Daryl?" Aiden spat. His voice was laced with venom.

"Keep your hands off of her." Daryl growled.

"Seems to me she wanted it," Aiden said smugly.

"Seems to me she said no," Glenn replied hotly from behind Daryl.

Aiden shrugged. "She'll come around." His arrogance was astounding.

Daryl slugged him again, knocking him back to the ground. "She's spoken for!" he spat.

"What?" Glenn and Carol asked in unison, looking to Daryl in confusion.

Daryl faced them and took a steadying breath. "I said, she's spoken for."

Beth beamed at him as she left Glenn's side to join Daryl's. She hugged him around the waist and he wrapped his left arm around her shoulders. The shock on Glenn and Carol's face was unnerving, but Daryl was glad to have finally laid it out in the open.

No one seemed to be able to formulate a response at the moment, so Daryl turned back to Aiden, keeping his hold on Beth. "If I see you around her again, I'll beat you into the ground."

With that, he stalked off with Beth at his side, leaving everyone else to wonder over what had just happened.

**There! They said they ****loved each other, things heated up, AND they finally revealed their relationship. It may have only been to Carol and Glenn (and random safe zone people in the gardens) but you _know_ word is gonna spread to everyone else in the group. Next chapter I'll try to have reactions to the revelation. Hope you enjoyed! **


	13. 13: Hell Hath No Fury

**I must've written and re-written this chapter a hundred different ways. I couldn't decide which perspectives to take or where they should lead to. I settled on what you're about to read; it's not my best, but I'm still fairly pleased with it. I have a better handle on what I want to do next, I just had to figure out how to lead into it first! Also, I added in a Rick POV as suggested by one of the reader's! Thanks for the suggestion, I hope it turned out okay. Thanks for sticking with me! Hope you're enjoying the story! :)**

**Carol**

Carol closed her eyes and willed her body to shut down and sleep. It was impossible, though, due to the giddy voice of Beth Greene, happily prattling on about her and Daryl.

Glenn had wasted no time in spreading the word of Daryl and Aiden's fight, and now that they were all gathered together in the living room for bed, Beth was being peppered with questions. Meanwhile, Daryl stood in a far corner, avoiding unwanted attention, speaking to Rick in muted tones.

Carol sighed, deciding it was pointless to lay down when sleep was clearly not an option. She sat up and rested her arms across her knees, choosing to watch Beth instead. The youngest Greene girl smiled and giggled as Maggie and Rosita prodded her with question after question.

Beth was pretty, even Carol had to admit - long blonde hair that fell in soft waves to her waist; bright blue eyes set against smooth, pale skin; lean, yet curvy body. Carol could see the appeal.

Even so, she was just so _young_; Carol would never have pegged Daryl as a man that chased after women half his age. And not only did the age difference baffle Carol, there was also the matter of Beth's ability (or lack thereof). She seemed so weak and helpless; she had always volunteered for babysitting or kitchen duty back at the prison, none of the hard stuff. Carol wasn't sure if the girl even knew how to take down a walker without the safety of a fence in front of her.

She'd only hold Daryl back, whereas Carol would be his partner - his equal. Carol was strong-willed and intelligent; she was willing to do whatever _had_ to be done, even if it was sometimes unpleasant. Not to mention that she'd known Daryl longer; she'd been his friend even back when he was incredibly stand-offish and irritable.

"So, does tough ol' Daryl have a soft side?" Carol heard Maggie whisper to Beth.

Beth's eyes softened as she nodded. She leaned in closer to Maggie and Rosita then, causing Carol to lean in to listen as well.

"He's not exactly comfortable with public affection . . . but it's different when we're alone," Beth replied to her older sister.

"He a good kisser?" Rosita asked with a wink.

"More like _great_," Beth breathed with no hesitation.

"Hmmm, I _see_!" Maggie laughed, pushing Beth's hair away from her face to reveal a splotchy red spot just under her ear. Beth turned bright pink as she yanked her hair back into place.

Carol felt her whole body tense up; Daryl had marked Beth's neck and the sight of it made Carol's stomach turn. It was the last straw.

"Hey Beth, _I_ have a question," Carol intoned from behind the young girl. Beth turned her eyes on Carol, surprised that she had been listening in. "What happens when you get tired of Daryl?"

Maggie and Rosita grew quiet, their faces a blank mask, as Beth narrowed her eyes slightly at Carol. "I'm sorry, what?" she asked pointedly.

"I _said,_ what happens when you're tired of him? When you decide you don't _want_ him anymore?" Carol bit out. Her voice had risen, drawing the attention of the entire room. Daryl turned his head sharply in her direction, alerted by the bitter tone in her voice.

"I'm not goin' to 'get tired' of him, Carol," Beth replied, attempting to maintain her composure.

"I don't believe that. You see,_ I_ think he's just there to fill your time before someone else comes along. You'll drop him just like you did with Jimmy and Zach," Carol hissed, standing to tower over Beth. Beth got to her feet as well, remaining eye level with Carol as she took a step forward, invading Carol's space.

"They _died,_" Beth ground out.

"And you didn't shed a single tear! You bounced right back, didn't you?"

"Carol!" Daryl growled from his spot across the room. He was pinning her in place with a glare he hadn't used on her since back at Hershel's farm, but Carol couldn't stop now; she had to let it all out.

"You were probably _relieved_ when they were gone so you could move on to the next one. You'll probably be _glad_ if anything happens to Dar-"

SMACK

Beth's hand collided with Carol's face, knocking her back a step. Carol's cheek stung from the impact, the slap more powerful than she would've expected from a girl that size.

Carol reared back to return the favor when her wrist was caught mid-swing by Daryl's large hand; he must have crossed the room without Carol seeing. She tugged against his grip but it was no use.

"Stop it, Carol," he said, his voice murderously low.

"You can't be serious about her, Daryl," Carol murmured. "You can't have picked her over me . . ."

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Daryl released his hold on her wrist, but stepped more fully in between her and Beth.

"I'm sorry I hurt you, Carol," he said evenly. "But I did pick Beth . . . I'd pick her every time."

...

**Rick**

The day was turning out to be full of surprises; Rick wasn't sure if he could handle any more.

First, Glenn came running to tell everyone that Daryl and Beth were apparently in a relationship. Turns out, they had been for some time.

Rick was blown away that Daryl had let down his guard enough to let someone like Beth in. But the way Daryl subtly glanced in Beth's direction as he talked with Rick, his demeanor softening ever so slightly as he looked at her, was proof that she had won him over, heart and soul.

Daryl wasn't one to give his respect and devotion freely, after all; you had to earn it. From the looks of it, Beth Greene had done that and then some.

Rick had promised Hershel to always look after his girls should anything happen to him; Rick watched over them as if they were his own flesh and blood, and he felt sure that Beth could be in no better hands than Daryl's. Once Daryl cared for someone, he'd go to any lengths to protect them, and it was now obvious to Rick that Daryl more than _cared_ for Beth. He was positively smitten with her.

Daryl and Beth had been an unexpected, but pleasant surprise, and Rick was happy for them.

Even more unexpected, however, was Carol's outburst. Rick had been trying to convince Daryl to stay on the supply run team despite Aiden's involvement; Deanna said they still needed him and his experience. That was when Carol's voice echoed across the room and all hell broke loose.

Carol was spouting out the most hurtful things she could think of while Beth stood there taking it, her eyes watering up and her mouth pressing into a thin, firm line. When she could take no more, Beth slapped Carol with more force than Rick had ever seen her use.

Daryl, who had disappeared from Rick's side, broke the two up before Carol could retaliate.

"You can't be serious about her, Daryl. You can't have picked her over me . . ." Carol practically whimpered.

Rick had had his suspicions about Carol's feelings towards Daryl. The two had built a strong friendship over the past couple of years, but it had always seemed like maybe Carol wanted more. Now he knew for sure.

Daryl's reply was so quiet that Rick couldn't make it out, but whatever he said had Carol stepping back as if she had been slapped again. Her eyes widened in disbelief and her mouth turned down in a frown as she turned to run from the house.

"Maybe it's best we start using' the second house now," Rick suggested calmly. "Y'know . . . space out some."

Daryl nodded as he folded a shaking Beth into his arms. "We'll go," he offered. "Beth already has some stuff in a room over there anyways."

"Good," Rick replied. "We can figure out who else goes next door tomorrow. Let's just get some sleep now."

Daryl led Beth towards the front door, the young woman clinging to his waist for support. She was trembling with anger to the point of unsteadiness. Rick clasped Daryl's shoulder as he passed by, giving his brother a reassuring pat on the back.

"Tomorrow will be better," he offered.

Daryl didn't seem convinced, but nodded anyways. "I surely hope so."

**So, kind of a short chapter, with only two POV's. The next chapter I have a bit of action planned, so hopefully this will hold you until then! I promise the next chapter will be more up to par. Thank you all for reading! :D**


	14. 14: Decisions

**I hope y'all enjoy this chapter bc it may be several days before the next. I have people comin' over the next couple days and then after that some vacation time! I'm pretty pleased with how this one turned out and I hope you will be too. Little fluff at one point and then a little action. Thanks for all the positive feedback!**

**Maggie**

"The solar panels are failing. New parts are necessary," Eugene plainly stated.

"There's a factory nearby . . . it's where I got the panels to begin with. It should have whatever you need," Reg replied, hands on his hips as he looked over Eugene's shoulder.

The power had begun to falter, just as Reg had feared it eventually would; fortunately, Eugene knew how to fix it. Now they just had to get him to that factory.

"Daryl and Glenn can take you," Maggie suggested. As Deanna's assistant, it was one of Maggie's duties to take detailed notes - and Deanna wanted notes on _everything_. So, Maggie had tagged along to inspect the solar panels and record their findings.

"Aiden can lead them there; he knows exactly where it is," Reg offered.

"Great," Maggie said with false enthusiasm. "They can go tomorrow. I'll let them know." She finished her notes and turned to head home.

Daryl wasn't going to be an easy sell on this run. They needed him though; he had experience and was always very successful when it came to supply runs; but, he couldn't stand Aiden and had no desire to associate with him if he could help it.

As Maggie approached the house, she saw Tara waving to her from the front porch. Beth, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, Abe, Rosita, and Tara had all moved into the other house following Beth and Carol's fight; the extra space brightened everyone's mood considerably.

"Hey!" Tara chimed from her seat on the railing.

"Hi Tara," Maggie replied, continuing to the front door.

"Where's the fire?"

Maggie paused with her hand on the doorknob, realizing she had been rushing a bit. "Got a run for tomorrow. Gotta find Daryl and see if he'll go."

"Cool. Count me in," Tara offered.

"Sure thing!" Maggie replied, adding Tara's name to her list.

Inside, the house was quiet, but Maggie was sure Daryl was there. She took the steps two at a time and quickly paced down the hall to the room Daryl shared with Beth, knocking twice.

The door swung open to reveal the most dressed-down version of Daryl that Maggie had ever seen - no vest, no shoes, no belt full of knives or crossbow slung across his back. Just a loose-fitting t-shirt and some scraped up jeans; he was apparently most at ease around Maggie's little sister.

"She's asleep," he whispered, motioning over his shoulder to Beth's sleeping form sprawled out on the bed.

"That's okay, I need to speak with _you_."

Daryl nodded silently as he stepped into the hallway, closing the door be hind him.

"The solar panels are starting to give out. Eugene can fix them, but he needs a few parts."

"I can go," he immediately offered. Maggie wanted to leave it at that and walk away, but she couldn't let Daryl volunteer for this run without knowing what he'd be dealing with; he deserved that much.

"Great! Glenn and Tara are goin' too . . . but . . ." she paused.

"But what?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Eugene has to go too. He knows which parts to get."

Daryl grumbled something under his breath. "Fine, guess there's no way around that."

"Aiden is goin' too . . ." Maggie added.

Daryl's reaction wasn't far from what Maggie had expected; his eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched up in distaste. He didn't respond immediately, silently weighing his options.

"I'll go. But if he makes one wrong move, I ain't foolin' with him ever again."

"Fair enough!" Maggie sighed in relief. Daryl shrugged like it was nothing, but she knew he was doing her a favor.

"Thank you!" she said, pulling him into a hug. He stiffened at her unexpected embrace, but eventually patter her arm in return. Smiling at his attempt, she released him and set out to find Glenn. Maggie was feeling better about the run already.

...

**Daryl**

"It's not too late to back out . . ." Beth tried to hide the waver in her voice with a smile, but Daryl knew she really did want him to stay. All his supply runs since their arrival at Alexandria had been close-by and simple. This was the first one that sent him far from the safe zone, to an area they didn't know very well.

In all honesty, he'd rather stay. Having to endure Aiden for the day in addition to babysitting mullet-man was not Daryl's idea of fun. But he needed to be there for Glenn and Tara; they always had his back when he needed them, now he was going to have theirs.

"Don't tempt me," he replied as Aiden rolled up in his ratty old van, music blaring out the open windows; he was going to bring every walker in the county down on them with that racket.

Eugene and Tara climbed in the back; Glenn kissed Maggie before yelling, "SHOTGUN!" and hopping in the front passenger seat.

"C'mon Daryl, let's go!" Glenn called.

Daryl looked down at Beth and her sad smile and wished they were alone; he wanted to be back in their room, saying goodbye beneath the covers as they had that morning. Instead he had to leave her and face the outside world so their community could have power. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed herself to him with all her might.

"Be safe," she murmured against his chest.

Daryl felt everyone's eyes on them, but he couldn't leave her there with only a hug. If something went wrong, he at least wanted to know he gave Beth a proper goodbye. He dipped his head down and kissed her. Glenn immediately started hooting and hollering; Daryl there him the bird behind Beth's back without every breaking the kiss. She pulled back and smiled at him, rolling her eyes at Glenn's cat-calls.

"I love you, Beth," Daryl murmured softly.

"I love you too. Be careful."

"We will be." With that, he joined the others in the van and watched Beth from his window as they drove away.

...

Aiden re fused to turn off his obnoxious music the entire ride. Daryl suffered through every monotonous song in silence, not wanting to start any trouble even though he could barely hear his own thoughts. When they arrived at the factory, Daryl practically crawled over Eugene to escape the cramped vehicle.

Raising his crossbow, Daryl and the others did a quick sweep of the perimeter, taking out any stray walkers as they located all possible exits. Once they were sure the parking lot was clear, they followed Aiden to the loading dock. The large garage doors were all shut, which gave Daryl hope that they wouldn't have many walkers to deal with inside. It gave them a hard time getting in, though; it took both Glenn and Aiden's weight to push in the side door for entrance.

The building was dark, forcing them to use their flashlights. The room was covered in rows of boxes, all stored ceiling-high. Daryl, Aiden, and Tara started down the aisle closest to them, while Glenn and Eugene took the one opposite it. For a while, the only sound was of boxes being ripped open and shuffled through. As they sifted through more and more boxes, though, the sound of weak gurgles and moans began to fill the air. Daryl abandoned his box and scanned the room with his flashlight, landing on a small fenced-in area filled with walkers. They pressed against the fence, snapping and biting; Daryl and the others must have made enough noise to draw their attention.

"Any luck?" he called, not wanting to linger too long. The walkers may have been confined, but he didn't want to take any chances with them so close.

"Got it!" Glenn said, triumphantly holding up a device about the length of his forearm. "There's full boxes of this stuff!"

"Well let's get as much as we can and get goin'." Daryl said, turning away from the fenced-in walkers.

Glenn and Eugene started gathering the necessary parts, piling them all into one large box, when a loud groan sounded out nearby. A walker in riot gear was slowly shuffling down the aisle towards Daryl, Tara, and Aiden, groaning and snapping his teeth.

"I got it," Aiden said, his voice casual. He aimed directly at the walker's head, but the protective helmet it wore deflected his bullet. Aiden continued to fire, aiming at different parts of the walker's body in an attempt to bring him down. His efforts were useless against the bullet proof armor and Daryl was about to tell him as much when he heard Glenn suddenly cry out.

"Aiden, NO!"

Aiden fired his last bullet; the last thing Daryl remembered was a loud booming sound and a flash of light. Then everything went black.

...

**Glenn**

Glenn saw the grenade strapped to the walker's belt and felt his heart drop down to his stomach. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as he saw Aiden take aim for one last shot, his finger settling on the trigger, as Glenn tried to warn him. "Aiden, NO!"

But he was too late.

The bullet made contact and the entire room shook; the explosion knocked Glenn on his back, bringing down a shower of boxes on top of him. It only lasted a couple of seconds, but the damage it caused was extensive.

Glenn sat up, his head spinning and blood running down his neck. He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, but otherwise seemed okay. Eugene was stirring next to him as well, dazed but already sifting through the rubble for the solar panel parts.

Glenn slowly got to his feet and began shifting the mess in front of him, needing to see the other aisle where his friends were.

"Tara! Daryl!" he called out as he cleared a space. Tara was on the floor, holding her right arm gingerly against her body. "You okay?"

She nodded shakily, pointing to her wrist. "Think it's broken or somethin'. I fell pretty hard. I'm okay though."

"Daryl?" Glenn asked, scanning the area. He gasped as his eyes landed on his friend's motionless form, sprawled out on the floor a few feet from Tara. His arms were scraped up and his head had a large gash that was bleeding heavily, but it looked like he was breathing.

"We have to get him out of here," Tara said as she stood to go to Daryl. "And where's Aiden?"

Glenn pushed through the fallen boxes until he made it to Tara and Daryl, Eugene stumbling along right behind him as he shoved the solar pane parts in his backpack.

"There,' Eugene said, pointing to the opposite wall. He looked like he was going to be sick and Glenn soon saw why; Aiden had his back to the wall, held in place by three large metal pipes that jutted out from his torso. Glenn ran to him, taking in the blood and debris clinging to his skin, the pipes impaling his body, and thought that he was a goner for sure. But Aiden lifted his head at Glenn's approach and began wheezing, blood dripping from his mouth with each cough.

"Glenn," he rasped. "I'm sorry . . . should've listened . . ."

"Don't be sorry, man. We didn't see it in time. I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?"

Glenn wasn't sure that Aiden would survive the trip home even if he could get him to the van, but he had to try. "Tara, come help me," Glenn called. She rushed forward, also looking nauseous from Aiden's situation. She grabbed onto the man all the same and helped Glenn pull. Aiden cried out in pain, but he didn't budge. They pulled again but to no avail; the pipes had Aiden firmly in place.  
Glenn was trying to come up with an alternate plan when Eugene broke his concentration.

"We have a situation over here!" Eugene cried.

Glenn looked Eugene's way and saw several walkers stumbling forward; the fence that had been holding them back had broken in the middle and they were slowly but surely working their way out. Glenn grabbed hold of Aiden once more and pulled with all his strength, but he wouldn't come loose.

Meanwhile, Eugene was still calling out in fear as the walkers inched closer. Glenn saw him bend down and scoop Daryl up, grabbing his crossbow with his free hand, and backing away from the impending her.

"I'm sorry, man, I'm so sorry," Glenn said to Aiden, backing away from him. Aiden's eyes widened in fear and disbelief.

"No, don't leave me here Glenn. Please," he pleaded.

Glenn felt shame roll over him, but there was nothing he could do. He could get himself and three of his friends killed trying to save Aiden; as much as he hated it, he couldn't risk their lives for this one man who might bleed out anyways.

"I'm sorry, Aiden. We have to go."

Glenn grabbed Tara and pulled her along behind him. They fell in line behind Eugene, who was already on his way towards the exit with Daryl slung over his shoulder. Glenn picked up his pace as he heard the walkers reach Aiden; the sound of that man being eaten alive would probably stick with Glenn forever, but he had made the right decision for his family; he had to keep them safe.

Luckily, the loading dock was still fairly empty, with only a few stray walkers roaming around. Glenn rushed to the van, throwing open the sliding door for Eugene and Daryl. Eugene placed Daryl on the floorboard gently and hopped in behind him, Tara following behind and slamming the door shut. Glenn ran to the drivers side, started the engine, and peeled out. He remembered the way back and intended to drive as fast as he could.

In the back, Daryl was still breathing, but he had begun to look paler as he lost more blood. Tara peeled off her jacket and was holding it to his head, attempting to slow the bleeding. There was a doctor back at the safe zone and if Glenn could just get him there in time, he might be okay.

That's what Glenn was hoping and praying for anyways.


	15. 15: Come Back

**I'm back! To those of you lovely readers who are still holding on to Bethyl such as myself and have been following this story, I apologize for my absence. After vacation, I had a hard time gettin' back into the swing of things. This chapter is gonna be short, I will warn you. . . like SERIOUSLY short. I haven't had much opportunity to write but I didn't wanna just leave you hanging forever. I haven't abandoned the story, I will write a few more chapters and eventually wrap it up. So, here's something to hold you over until I can get my creative juices get going again. Sorry for the length (or lack thereof) but I hope it will suffice for a few more days!**

**Beth**

It had been two days since the others brought Daryl back and he hadn't woken up once.

The gash on his head was stitched and bandaged. The cuts and scrapes that littered his arms and torso had been cleaned and treated with ointment. He had been given what IV fluids the doctor, Pete, had had on hand. Overall, he was stable and doing fine. But he wouldn't wake up, and it scared Beth.

Daryl's steady breathing was comforting, but he looked weak and defenseless, two words Beth had never associated with him before; it was unsettling. She wanted him to wake up and ask her what she was looking so weepy about. She wanted him to fold her up in his arms and kiss the top of her head like he'd done so many times before. She needed to hear him say he loved her. But he couldn't do any of those things and it was causing Beth's chest to ache.

But she pushed the hurt in her heart aside easily, for it was nothing compared to how she'd felt when he'd first returned from that awful run.

When she saw Glenn and Eugene lift Daryl from the van and realized what condition he was in, her stomach twisted into knots and her skin broke out in a cold sweat. His face and neck had been covered with so much blood that she'd been afraid he'd been bitten; the relief of the real source of his injuries was short-lived though, as sobs began to wrack her body. She'd followed Eugene and Glenn as they carried Daryl, her best friend and love, to the doctor's home and hadn't left his side since.

Maggie brought Beth's meals every day and kept an eye on Daryl while she took bathroom breaks, but otherwise Beth was glued to the chair at his bedside. She slept with her head against his side and her hand wrapped around his. She kissed his cheek and murmured soft "I love you's" against his neck, willing him to wake up and come back to her. She sat through every visit from the others, whether they wanted privacy with Daryl or not.

Maybe she was being too extreme; Pete said that the worst was over, after all, and that he expected Daryl to make a full recovery. But Beth couldn't bring herself to leave him; she'd be there when he woke up, no matter how long it took.


	16. 16: Forgiveness

**So another semi-short chapter. I'm trying to make up for lost time, but it's coming in short spurts! Not nearly as short as last chapter, but it's still only one POV. Next chapter I'll get Daryl's POV, along with Beth again. I hope y'all enjoy Carol's perspective, she's trying to be more level-headed this time for following/favoriting/reviewing! Keep 'em comin'!**

**Carol**

Carol paused in the doorway to Daryl's room, unsure whether she should continue. She could see him lying in the bed, eyes closed, hand held tightly in Beth Greene's grip. She wanted nothing more than to be keeping vigil over him in Beth's stead, instead of hiding away as she had been the past two days.

Carol hadn't spoken to either Beth or Daryl since the night she verbally attacked Beth. She didn't regret the things she'd said in her anger . . . until she saw how Beth had reacted to Daryl's condition. She had never seen Beth so broken down; she had shivered and sobbed and whimpered. She'd been glued to Daryl's side the entire time, not caring that she looked a mess with her unkempt hair, wrinkly clothes, and tear-stained face. You'd have to be blind to not see how much she truly loved Daryl; she had made Carol eat her own words without ever trying.

Now, Carol felt a sting of remorse that outweighed any hurt she still harbored from Daryl's rejection. She didn't want to, but she needed to swallow her pride and make things right with Beth. She'd never have Daryl as a friend again if she didn't fix things, and she'd rather have a wounded ego and Daryl's friendship than nothing at all.

Carol gently knocked on the doorframe. Beth looked up, seemingly unsurprised to see her there.

"Can I come in?" Carol asked politely.

Beth merely shrugged, but Carol took that as a yes. As she entered, she was relieved to see that Daryl looked vastly better than when he'd arrived; it put her at ease to see that he was already showing improvement.

"You holdin' up okay?" she asked.

Beth looked at Carol dully and shrugged again. "I guess. I keep tellin' myself that it could be worse . . . that I could be in Deanna's shoes now, mourning . . . that at least he's still here."

Carol's throat felt tight as she gazed past Beth to Daryl. She hadn't even thought of Deanna's loss; leave it to Beth to continue to think of others in the midst of her own troubles.

"He's gonna be alright," Carol said, both as a comfort to Beth and herself. "He's a fighter."

Beth gave a short nod but made no reply.

"I'm sorry," Carol said quietly. "For everything I said and did. I don't know why I acted that way."

"Because you love him," Beth replied in a hushed tone.

"I do," Carol admitted, her voice thick with emotion. "It was no excuse though."

Beth sighed. "No, it wasn't. I know that you've known him longer and it isn't fair, but I love him too. I can't change that and I don't want to."

"I can see that now . Before, I was so jealous that I couldn't accept it. I just didn't want Daryl to get hurt. I have a feelin' he's already had more than his fair share of pain in his life."

Beth looked back to Daryl, leaning forward to smooth his hair back from his forehead tenderly. "He has," she murmured softly.

"Things may never be the same between you and I and I get that . . . but can you forgive me?" Carol asked.

"I forgive you, Carol," Beth replied, keeping her eyes on Daryl. "I don't want us to keep avoiding each other. I don't want us to be enemies. We're _family_."

Carol swallowed hard. It was hard to believe that after the way she'd treated her, Beth still considered Carol family. Carol had single-handedly inflicted so much stress and conflict within their group, and yet Beth, the person Carol had hurt the most, was willing to overlook that and accept her.

"Thank you," Carol replied. She felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Do you think Daryl will forgive me too?"

"He will. You're his closest friend, Carol. He'll always be there for you," Beth replied with confidence.

Carol smiled to herself. She felt a tear rolling down her cheek and hurried to wipe it away. She loved Daryl and still felt hurt and lonely. Maybe she'd feel that way for a while. But she knew eventually she'd move on, the pain would recede, and she would have him in her life as a friend. That would be enough for her.

"Beth?"

Carol looked up in disbelief. Daryl's eyes were fluttering open and he was trying to lift his head.

"Beth?"

"Daryl!" Beth cried. "Don't sit up, your head was hurt pretty bad."

"Hurts like hell," he muttered.

Beth stood from her chair to draw closer to his side. Daryl's dark blue eyes landed on her and he weakly smiled.

"Hey Greene," he rasped in a somewhat playful tone.

"Hey yourself," she said through tears.

"Don't cry," he commanded gently, reaching up to wipe away the drops running down her face.

"I thought you were gonna leave me, " Beth cried in earnest now. "I thought I'd lose you."

She buried her face against his neck, wrapping her arms carefully around his bruised side. He snaked his arms around her and pulled her in closer.

"Naw, last man standin', remember?"

Beth choked out a laugh and began to pepper his face with kisses. Daryl put up no resistance and readily kissed her back when she reached his lips. Carol had always known Daryl must have a softer side to him, one that he hid away. She'd always wanted to see it, but not like this. As happy as she was to be back on good terms with Beth, she couldn't stand seeing her and Daryl that way. Not yet.

So, she eased out of the room to give them some privacy. She needed to find Pete and her people anyways. She had to share the good news.


	17. 17: A Sudden Need

**Slowly truckin' along! This chapter has a teensy bit of sexy time in it, but nothing too graphic. I'm not much of one for fine details when it comes to this particular topic, I prefer to remain subtle. So no worries if you want to avoid the more mature themes, this is a fairly mild description I think. **

**Sorry I've only been doing one person's perspective for the past few chapters. I tried to get two POV's in this chapter. I hope you enjoy! Thanks for sticking with me, it means the world to me! **

**Daryl**

The pounding in Daryl's head was finally beginning to fade away, and the ache in his side didn't hurt so much if he held still. Two days of unconsciousness and a third day of bed rest had made him restless though, and he wanted to do anything _but_ hold still.

Beth had filled Daryl in on what happened after he'd black out : losing Aiden, Glenn and Eugene rushing Daryl back to the safe zone, the groups' fear that they'd lose him. He was relieved he'd made it out alive, but he'd endured enough of Pete's poking and prodding and was ready to get back to his own room in his own house. Daryl had suffered plenty of injuries in his life and he'd never let them slow him down before; this was no different. He was ready to get up and back to his routine as soon as possible.

Pete warned Daryl against too much too fast, but cleared him to leave all the same. Daryl wasted no time gathering up his discarded vest, crossbow, and bolts, and hurrying to his own house. Beth had reluctantly left his side earlier that day at Maggie's urging; her older sister had insisted that Daryl was in stable condition and that Beth deserved a long, hot shower after three whole days spend at his bedside. Daryl couldn't agree more, but he already felt her absence weighing on him, pushing him faster to return to her side.

The house was quiet as he entered; Maggie sat in the living room's bay window, reading a book. She looked up as Daryl closed the front door behind him.

"Welcome back, stranger!" she said with a smile.

He nodded at her as he looked around, scanning the room for Beth.

"She's still in the shower," Maggie said casually, already returned to her reading.

Daryl climbed the stairs and started down the hallway. He'd meant to drop his things off in their room and wait for Beth there, but as he passed the hall bathroom he heard her voice drifting from the room in a soft song, stopping him in his tracks.

Daryl had never been one to be forward or invasive of privacy. He was admittedly shy and reserved with his affections and tended to let Beth take the lead, even though he was the one with more experience in the physical aspect of things. But for some reason he found himself grasping the doorknob and letting himself in to the small bathroom, suddenly overcome with the urge to see and feel Beth.

Her singing stopped as she heard the door open and close. "Maggie?" she asked.

"No," Daryl replied in a soft voice, still unsure what he was doing.

Beth pulled back the curtain slightly, her face appearing amidst a cloud of steam. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as she watched him set down his things and kick out of his shoes.

"Daryl, what are you -?"

He took two steps forward, closing the distance between them, to cup her face in his hands and kiss her hard. Beth pushed the curtain fully aside and ran her hands up Daryl's shirt, breaking the kiss to pull it over his head and toss it to the floor. He ran his hands over the smooth, wet skin of her back as she hastily undid his jeans and pushed them down. He stepped out and led her back into the warm spray of the shower, pulling the curtain shut behind him.

Daryl let his mouth roam her chest and collarbone, working his way slowly up her neck. Her skin was hot from the water and his mouth made it prickle up in goosebumps wherever he kissed her. Beth tugged his face from her neck, bringing his lips back down on hers. She ran her tongue greedily along his lower lip and tongue, making his entire body shiver involuntarily. He grabbed her rear and lifted her onto his waist as he pressed her back against the cool tile wall.

She immediately wrapped her legs around his hips and moaned as they came together as one. He could feel her nails digging into his shoulder blades as he began a steady rhythm against her. He ignored the pain in his injured side as the rest of his body was overcome with pleasure.

Daryl looped one arm around Beth's tiny waist, gripping her hip bone, as he lowered his free hand between them to lightly touch her where they met. Beth groaned loudly, the sound reverberating throughout the tiny bathroom. Daryl had taken his and Beth's sex life slow and steady, not wanting to throw too much at her at once, so he'd never touched her like that before. He got the feeling she liked it though, seeing how she leaned into his touch, grinding against him as she exhaled breathy sighs.

Her moans grew louder as he increased pressure, never breaking the motion of his hips. He covered her mouth with his own to silence her, but he was having a hard time keeping quiet himself; she just felt too _good_.

"Oh my gah . . . Daryl . . ." Beth murmured in his ear, biting down on his earlobe. "I . . . love . . . you," she panted.

"I love you too, Bethie," he moaned.

Daryl felt Beth's legs tighten around him suddenly, her fingernails digging harder into his back. She closed her eyes and gasped as she came undone, finding her release. Daryl wasn't far behind, lowering her from his hips just in time to finish on the tile floor, a moan escaping his lips.

Beth collapsed against his chest, breathing heavily, as he enveloped her in his arms.

"What was _that_ all about?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

"I dunno," he murmured against her hair. "Missed you is all."

"You should miss me more often," she teased, pressing a kiss to his chest, just over his heart.

BANG BANG BANG!

"You two almost done in there? I need the shower!" Glenn yelled from the hallway. His voice was muffled by the door, but Daryl could hear the smirk in his tone.

"Wait your turn!" Beth called back when Daryl couldn't see to find his voice.

"you're too loud, girl," Daryl said, heat creeping up his neck in embarrassment.

Beth laughed as she toweled off and pulled her hair up in a bun.

"You weren't so quiet yourself," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, I've heard Glenn and Maggie goin' at it more times than I can count. It's about time they got a taste of their own medicine!"

...

**Beth**

Beth walked around in a haze of happiness the next several days. Daryl had woken up and was on the mend; Carol had apologized and was attempting to act civil; her little family was whole and safe. She couldn't help but be in a good mood.

The last person Beth had expected to sour that good mood was Aaron.

She had been sitting on the front porch, peeling potatoes she'd brought home from the garden for supper that night, when he strolled up the steps. He had checked in on them periodically since their arrival, but was otherwise scarce due to his recruiting duties.

"Oh, hey Aaron!" Beth said in surprise, dropping another potato peel off the deck.

"Hey Beth, how are you?" he asked kindly, shoving his hands in his pockets as he stood there.

"I'm great, actually," she said earnestly. "How 'bout you?"

"Can't complain," he replied.

"Good," she said. "What brings you here?"

"I'm lookin' for Daryl, actually. He in?"

"No, he volunteered for watch tower duty. It's the only thing the doctor is allowing him to help with until his head is completely healed up."

"Oh," Aaron said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"What's up?" Beth asked, curious to Aaron's sudden interest in Daryl.

"I have an opportunity for Daryl if he's up for it. I need someone to help me recruit and I think it's right up his alley."

Beth's hands stilled mid-peel as she stared at Aaron. The thought of Daryl recruiting made her uneasy. Sure, he went on runs outside the walls and that was plenty dangerous . . . his recent condition was proof of that. But runs only lasted a day or two at most; recruiting took Aaron away for weeks at a time. Beth would go crazy with worry if Daryl was gone that long. That was just more opportunity for him to run into trouble. Daryl could handle himself, Beth knew; after all, they'd all done fairly well for themselves without the protection of walls before. But with his recent injuries, Beth didn't think her heart could handle another close call. Maybe she was being selfish, but she hated this "opportunity".

"He's _just_ now gettin' better, and you want him to go runnin' around, followin' potentially dangerous people?" Beth couldn't help the coldness that seeped into her voice.

Aaron's face fell under Beth's glare. "I wouldn't leave until the doctor gave him the all-clear," he offered. "And as far as dangerous people, we would stay out of sight until we were 100% sure they were okay. That's what I did with your people, remember?"

"I remember," Beth said evenly. "And I know there are still good people out there. I believe it with all my heart. But I've seen so many bad people that I'm not sure recruitin' is worth it."

"Daryl is a good judge of character. I know you trust his opinion." Aaron countered.

Beth remained silent, returning to her peeling. She was afraid if she said anymore her voice would shake and she'd surely cry.

"Just tell him I stopped by. Please? He deserves a say in this."

With that, Aaron ambled down the stairs and walked back in the direction of his own home, leaving Beth behind, feeling hollow and angry.


	18. 18: Decisions, Decisions

**I have no good excuses for my lateness. Life happens! I hope y'all have stuck with me though! Thanks for reading and as always, I hope you enjoy!**

**Daryl**

The cool air of early autumn filled Daryl's lungs as he stormed out of the house. The chill of the evening made Daryl's too-hot skin pebble up in goosebumps, but did nothing to cool the anger overwhelming him.

Beth had told him about Aaron's visit and the chance to be a recruiter, an opportunity that immediately appealed to Daryl, even in light of his recent mishap from leaving the safety of Alexandria's walls. Daryl knew the risks of traveling beyond the safe zone, knew all the bad things that could happen; but some days he felt trapped by the walls and the people within them. He found comfort in Beth and their family, but the absurdity of everyone else attempting to cling to a normal life got to him sometimes. He needed an outlet, like hunting or supply runs. It kept him sane and, more importantly, it kept him on his toes. He didn't want to get to comfortable here and let his guard down. Recruiting could provide Daryl the opportunity for that temporary escape and the chance to keep his skills sharp. It caused a spark of excitement as he thought of it.

That excitement was quickly stamped out, though, by one Miss Beth Greene.

Hands on her hips and determination in her eyes, she had looked right at Daryl and told him that she didn't want him to do it. That he needed to stay in the safe zone with her and the others. Had Daryl had any sense, he would've realized that Beth spoke out of fear, not anger. Instead, Daryl took her worries as commands and let his defensive nature take over.

"Ain't your decision to make," he spat.

Beth's eyebrows raised a fraction and her mouth turned down in a frown. "I never said that, Daryl," she replied in defense. "I just don't think it's the wisest idea."

"I can take care of myself. Been doin' it all my life, this ain't any different!"

Why was he yelling? Why was he so convinced she was attacking him? He knew he should stop. He could see her getting angry too, that stubborn rage building behind those calm blue eyes.

"We nearly lost you, Daryl, and you wanna go out there for weeks at a time?" she asked, her voice louder than before.

"I don't need you to babysit me," he said fiercely, turning to leave. He didn't even give her a chance to respond as he stalked out and down the front steps. Daryl heard Beth calling his name, but he didn't stop and she didn't follow.

...

**Aaron**

The rocking chair on the front porch was one of Aaron's favorite places to relax in the evening. Cooler weather was coming in, leaves were changing color, and the sun glowed a bright orange as it set beyond the horizon, all things that Aaron couldn't let pass him by. So, he curled up in his chair, rocking lightly and sipping a cup of tea as the sun sank lower in the sky, enjoying a moment of peace and calm.

He had just finished the last of his drink when Daryl Dixon, looking surly as ever, stomped up his front steps to stand before him. Aaron didn't know Daryl on a personal level as of yet. Daryl hadn't taken kindly to the fact that Aaron had observed them from afar before ever approaching them, watching their every move and interaction. So, Aaron hadn't spoken with him much. He knew he was a good man though; quiet and to himself most of the time, but fiercely loyal to those he loved.

Daryl stood in silence with his arms crossed across his chest, his shoulder leaning against the railing, as he waited for Aaron to speak. He seemed particularly tense to Aaron, though it was hard to tell with someone who hardly ever looked at ease.

"Daryl, hi!" Aaron said warmly. "I see Beth told you I was lookin' for you?"

"Somethin' like that," Daryl muttered.

Aaron frowned, remembering how upset Beth had been when he last spoke to her. Judging from Daryl's mood, Aaron guessed their discussion of the situation didn't go over too well.

"I hope I didn't cause any strife between you two," Aaron said apologetically.

"Don't matter," Daryl said with a shrug. "Just tell me about the recruitin' job."

"Okay then . . . um . . .well, I've been recruitin' on my own for a while now, but I've always wanted a partner to help. I haven't found anyone fit for the job, though, 'til now."

Daryl studied Aaron momentarily before speaking. "Why me?"

"You know how to track and maintain stealth, for one thing. But the main reason is you can read people. You have a great sense for others' motives and character. That's a must when deciding who is safe to bring back. You're perfect for this."

Daryl didn't look completely convinced as he mumbled something incoherently under his breath, giving no distinct answer. Aaron smiled and stood to his feat, setting his empty drink aside.

"Also, I have something for you. Follow me."

...

**Daryl**

When Aaron flipped the light switch, Daryl's eyes immediately flew to the motorcycle frame propped in the middle of the garage. He glanced across assortment of tools and parts scattered around the work benches and floor in no particular rhyme or reason. It was a mess, to be sure, but it was a sight for sore eyes to Daryl.

"I can't ride one," Aaron said as Daryl stepped forward to take a closer look. "It was already here when I moved in. So, I've been grabbin' parts any time I go out. Don't know if all of 'em are for motorcycles or not, but hopefully there's enough here to make it work. I want you to have it."

Daryl glanced over the bike, taking mental inventory. The tires and body seemed in good condition. The motor could use some work, but Aaron surely had something useful in his mess of a work space.

He grabbed the handles and could practically feel the wind in his face and the vibration beneath his fingertips already. He pictured himself flying down the road, Beth hugging his waist and laughing in his ear as they sped along.

_Beth._

The bike would be used for recruiting, but Daryl couldn't picture himself on it without Beth right behind him. All at once, Daryl felt terrible. Clinging to recruiting without even considering Beth and her feelings suddenly seemed very selfish of him. If he was going to keep Beth in his life, he was going to have to take her into account in all he did. He wasn't on his own anymore.

He wanted this bike and the freedom it represented. He wanted to be away from the foolish members of this community. But he wanted Beth more. His mind was made up right then and there.

"I can't take it," Daryl mumbled.

"No really, I'm worthless on a bike. You should have it," Aaron replied with a laugh.

"The recruiting. I can't do it," he said this time. Aaron's face fell slightly but he nodded his head like he understood.

"Beth?" he asked kindly.

"Mmhmm."

"I understand, man. I just thought I'd ask. You can still have the bike."

Right then, Daryl felt less resentment towards the man who had prodded into his family's lives at their lowest moment. Maybe he was one of those good people left in the world Beth had talked about.

"Yeah?" Daryl asked.

"Of course! Someone should enjoy it. You can fix it up here whenever you want, so you don't have to move all the tools and whatnot. I don't mind at all." Aaron insisted.

Daryl managed a half smile. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now, go home to your girl."

...

**I hope y'all don't mind my lack of length to these last few chapters. I'll have how Beth takes Daryl's decision (an apology?) in the next chapter.**

**BTW, did y'all see the preview for season 6? It looks freakin' amazing! And the end, with all the Daryl stuff? I'm gonna be a mess come October, I can tell!**

**Anyways, have a good evening and hopefully you'll hear from me soon! :)**


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